Nothing Left to Lose & Matchmaker & Fire and Ice
by darkjewel79
Summary: 3 Stories! ::Nothing Left to Loose:: Naraku has been defeated, the Shikon Jewel has vanished. Happy ending? Sesshomaru x Kagome ::Matchmaker:: Kagome has her hands full arranging happy endings. Nominated Best Comedy IYFanguild ::Fire and Ice:: So
1. Nothing Left to Lose

A/N: Cookie cutter? Oh yes, it started out that way. But I promise, it does veer off pretty darn hard and is different. I promise violence, some love, and a happy ending. Romance, well, sort of. Come on, it's Sesshomaru, how romantic can it be? And I promise a miko that stands up for herself! Oh yeah, I own nothing. Not even the laptop. Damn. Anyways, please review, and constructive criticism is always welcome! Enjoy the great beast I have created!

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It was all over.

Naraku had been defeated. After so many years of struggle and pain they had won. The jewel had been wished away, never to cause trouble again. A happy ending, or so the young miko had hoped.

Kikyou's created body was damaged beyond repair. Both Miroku and Sango were still unconscious, seriously injured. Shippo alone was unhurt, spirited away by his fellow fox demons to safety, but there was no way to find him. Kagome was conscious, but alone. Inuyasha had made his decision. He had held Kagome, whispered in her ear, then turned and taken Kikyou away. He would follow her to hell.

It was all over. Kagome looked around the hut that she had been sharing with her friends. Sango and Miroku had been rebandaged by a healer and were resting comfortably. They no longer looked like death was knocking at the door. Kagome's hand trailed over her stomach, her own injuries freshly bandaged. The image of a tentacle slamming into her body flashed through her mind, making her wince in memory.

And her hero? The one that had cut the tentacle away and moved her to safety near the failing Kikyou? He was gone. Kagome had only one thought now: home. She did not want to deal with her friends' questions when they woke and found Inuyasha gone. In the dark she scribbled out a note to Sango. If the well would let her she would come back to see them, but now she needed her home and family. Kirara was curled up with Sango.

"Kirara?"

The little neko-youkai blinked her sleepy eyes and gave a soft mew.

"I need a big favor. I know you don't want to leave Sango, but if I don't get home . . . I don't know what I'm going to do but it won't be good. Please? It's not too far to the well with your help, and you can be back by the time Sango wakes up. Pretty please?"

Kirara gave a big stretch, then nodded and went outside. A flash of fire, then the neko-youkai was ready to leave. Kagome grabbed her pack, taking one last look at her friends. 'I hope the well stays open. I don't want this to be good bye.'

Flying through the night Kagome clung to Kirara. She was still weak and her stomach was bleeding, but once she got home her Mama could help her. In her time the doctors could do more then slap a bandage on. She could hold on until she was through the well. She slumped forward over Kirara's shoulders. 'I'll be home soon. I'll be safe with Mama. My own bed. Oh, that sounds good.'

The neko-youkai touched down next to the well, waiting for Kagome to slide off.

"Arigato, Kirara. I owe you big time. If I can make it back I'll bring you a whole big bag of kitty treats. Deal?"

Kirara nuzzled Kagome, then took to the air to rush back to Sango's side.

Kagome watched the cat until she disappeared from sight. 'This might be good bye. I hope not, but it could be.' She took one last look around. There was the God Tree, with the hole from the arrow that had pinned Inuyasha.

'Inuyasha. Why? How could you say that and leave me?' Fresh tears ran down Kagome's face, but she brushed them away. 'He's gone now, I won't cry over him. The big jerk. I'm going home.'

Exhaustion made Kagome drag herself over the edge of the well instead of jumping, but with a sigh of relief she dropped into the void. When she hit the bottom she was quite surprised to find herself face down in the dirt. Moaning in pain, she rolled over and clutched her stomach. 'That's not how that was supposed to go. What happened? The jewel!'

The Shikon jewel was gone, wished away. Without it, the well had closed to her. She was stuck in the Feudal Era. It had never occurred to her that it might stop working with her on the wrong side. She had been worried about returning, not about going home!

Kagome dragged herself back out of the well and sat on the side. For hours she starred at nothing, trying to come up with a plan. Now where? She knew she could not make it all the way back to her friends without Kirara, she didn't even know the way. What else was there for her? Her quest was over, the bad guy was dead. Her future had been locked away, and now she was alone. 'Damnit, Inuyasha, I really could use some help right now, and where are you? In Hell! What good is that to anybody, including you? Stupid hanyou. Stupid Kikyou. Stupid well. Stupid Kagome. Nobody's coming for you, so you better figure this one out on your own!'

Kaedae. Kaedae would help her. One ankle was twisted, not holding her weight properly, but it would have to do. Kagome dragged herself towards Kaedae's hut, but she was losing the battle with exhaustion. The gash across her stomach that Naraku had given her had opened in her fall and it was bleeding. Kagome stared at her shirt in horror as the red stain grew. Her eyes fluttered, and then closed as she sank to the ground.

The demons drew in, their patience paying off. All day they had been gathering, attracted by the smell of blood in the air. Now was the opportunity they had been hoping for. The miko was defenseless and alone.

----

Sesshomaru had not escaped unscathed from the battle with Naraku, but he had already recovered. His only thought now was to return to his home and continue the business of running an empire. Rin was very excited to return to Sesshomaru-sama's home and was running about, peppering Jacken with questions.

"How long until we get there? Will it be before dark? Why don't we just take An-Un and fly? Do you think An-Un will be happy to be home? Rin will be happy to be home. Is Jaken happy . . ."

"Stop your nonsense, Rin! We will get there when we get there! Do not question Sesshomaru-sama . . . " Jaken was winding up for a top notch yell.

"Jaken."

"Apologies, Sesshomaru-sama, I am only trying to keep this ningen under control with her incessant questions!"

Sesshomaru did not even glance at Jaken. He was distracted by the smell of blood and a large group of demons. The blood was familiar; he had caught the same scent in the recent past.

"Rin, stay here."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin stopped An-Un and started singing to herself.

"Sesshomaru-sama, where are you going!"

Jaken's frightened squeak followed Sesshomaru as he moved towards the smell of demons and blood.

The ningen was laying face down in a field, surrounded by demons. Yes, the familiar smell was coming from her, he knew her from somewhere. Sesshomaru unsheathed Tokijin and slaughtered the demons without a thought or warning. They were all low youkai, scarcely worth the effort but he could not allow them so close to his own territory. After the last demon had fallen or fled, Sesshomaru studied the ningen on the ground with his usual cool mask. With his foot he rolled her over.

No question, this was Inuyasha's wench, the miko that had destroyed Naraku. How was it that she was alone, nearly dead, and surrounded by demons?

"Sesshomaru-sama, who is that?" Rin flew from the trees to where the miko lay.

"Jaken."

"Forgive me, Sesshomaru-sama! I tried to stop her but she would not obey! She bit me, my lord!" Jaken rubbed his hand where a small bruise was forming.

"Sesshomaru-sama, what are you going to do? Can we take her home with us? Has Rin met her? Can she be Rin's friend?"

Sesshomaru stared at Rin, then at the miko.

"We are leaving."

"Rin does know her! She fought Naraku, didn't she? It's the pretty lady!"

A low growl rumbled from the inu-youkai. 'She has recognized her. Rin has been helped by her. This ningen has assisted me in battle, destroyed that creature in battle, and now is in distress. If I turn away it would be said that this Sesshomaru has no honor. Damn.'

"Sesshomaru-sama, can we help the pretty lady? She helped Rin, and Rin would like to help her."

"Rin! Do not argue with Sesshomaru-sama! He has said that we are leaving. Why would he want to save a ningen, especially one in this sad of shape?" Jaken was all set to make up for his earlier thwarted yell.

"He saved Rin, Jaken-sama."

"A decision I am sure he regrets every day!"

An almost invisible sigh escaped Sesshomaru as he stared at the miko. "Where is An-Un?"

Rin turned and whistled, calling the two-headed dragon to her. Now the miko would need to be moved to the dragon, but the inu-youkai was hesitant to touch her. 'The stench is sickening. Is there a way to get her on An-Un that would not involve her stench being on my person?'

Seeing no other options, Sesshomaru roughly lifted the miko and set her on the dragon, trying to minimize the contact. He was much more gentle when he lifted Rin to sit in front of the unconscious bundle.

"We must go directly to the palace. No more stops. Understood?"

"Hai, my lord!" Rin gave her lord a bright smile. 'He is saving the pretty lady that saved Rin!'

"Wait for me, my lord!" Jaken screamed as Sesshomaru called his cloud and took flight. Jaken snagged An-Un's tail as the dragon took off, clinging for dear life as the ground swept away.

Sesshomaru kept his face blank as his mind worked over the new turn of events.

'How did the miko that defeated Naraku become so weak that she was unconscious and alone in a field? Where was that hanyou?' He glanced at the adoring child on An-Un. The little girl had remembered her, and had remembered that the ningen had cared for the little girl. With the defeat of the hanyou and the care of Rin he could not leave her to die in an empty field, torn apart by lowly youkai. It would be beneath him.

But now he was having a chance to think about his decision. Part of his mind screamed for him to leave or destroy the dangerous miko before she awoke. The other half was trying to turn this into an opportunity. Rin would gain a companion, and Sesshomaru would be able to learn of this ningen's powers. Perhaps she could prove to be useful, a new tool for his use.

'Hai', Sesshomaru concluded. 'She could be most useful. She is belligerent and defiant, but once she understands her place she will be a great asset'.

Rin had been chattering nonstop, mostly talking to herself and making up new songs for her new friend. Sesshomaru found the sound soothing, as long as it was quiet and did not require a response.

----

The group traveled through the night, arriving at the Great Lord's home with the rising sun. Rin was sound asleep, propped up in the saddle. A glance told him that the miko was still unconscious. Jaken was just behind her, having worked his way up the dragon through the night.

Servants were gathering in the courtyard as Sesshomaru and his retinue landed. Rin awoke as they landed, delighted to be home. All of the servants bowed low, waiting for instructions.

"Take the ningen to a room and have a healer attend to her, " Sesshomaru ordered, going into the building. Rin ran to catch up with him and whispered to him. "The room next to Rin's," the Great Lord added, sweeping into the palace.

Sesshomaru escorted Rin to her own room, with a bed large enough for ten children her size. "Rest."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama." Rin burrowed under the blankets and was out almost instantly.

Servants were moving about in the hall, settling the miko into her new room. Sesshomaru realized that this was the room that was connected to his.

'Damn.'

He had thought nothing of letting Rin pick the room, but now he was regretting the arrangement. He did not mind having his Rin so close, but having this miko so close that he could hear her and smell her set his hackles up. The servants hurried to get the new guest settled, eager to be out of Sesshomaru's range. The healer dropped a bow to the Lord before hurrying to his new patient.

"Sesshomaru-sama, what happened to her?"

"This Sesshomaru knows not. Heal her."

"H – hai, my lord."

Sesshomaru gave one final glance to his new guest, then left.

----

Kagome awoke in a room she had never seen before. She was clean, warm, and bandaged. The bed she was lying in was covered with silk and down blankets with enough room for Kagome to roll over several times without reaching the edge. Her clothing was gone, replaced with a garment of white with blue embroidery. The room was beautiful, so grand that she was afraid to touch anything.

'Maybe I died.' A stab of pain from her healing wounds changed her mind. 'Nope, I hurt way too much to be dead. Where am I, then? I don't know anybody with a house like this.'

Shoving her pain aside Kagome tried to sit up. It was all she could handle to stay up once she got there. Any thoughts of looking for others were long forgotten. Fear started to creep over her. 'Where is everybody? Am I alone? Is this hell after all? It's so quiet. I can't hear anything, no matter how hard I try.'

"You're awake!" a voice squealed.

Kagome jumped, causing a wince to form on her face. A small bundle of energy flew into her room and perched on the edge of her bed. "Rin is so happy to see you!"

"Rin?" Kagome stared at the smiling face. "Rin, is it really you? Where is Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Working, Rin thinks. When Sesshomaru-sama works Rin plays with Jaken. Jaken doesn't want to play today, though. Rin thought her joke was very funny, but Jaken was very grumpy afterwards. But it will wash off, the healer says so . . ."

"Rin, where are we?"

"Sesshomaru-sama's house, of course. My room is right next to yours, do you want to see it? Maybe you can play with Rin, will you be Rin's friend?"

A tired smile appeared on Kagome's face. The girl's enthusiasm was contagious. "Of course I'll be your friend, Rin, but I'm too tired to play right now."

"Rin will get the healer, the healer will be happy to see you awake. Rin was so worried that the friend Sesshomaru-sama brought for her would not wake up!"

Rin catapulted out of the room.

'Sesshomaru brought me here to be Rin's friend? That doesn't make sense, he wants me dead! I'm really sure about that, he's certainly tried enough times. Not the last time I saw him, of course, he was too busy going after Naraku, but every other time! He hates humans, except for Rin. Would he really just pick me up to take care of Rin?'

"Keh." 'How typical, just pick me up and expect me to do what you want. I'm so tired of guys treating me like that! Sesshomaru, Kouga, Inuyasha . . . yup, that still stings. Don't think about him right now, girl. You've got other things to worry about. It's a good thing that Rin is so adorable or I'd be leaving right now! Well, I would if I could walk. I'll just have to wait until I'm stronger, then I can escape. I wonder if Rin would want to come with me, she can't possibly be happy here with that killer.'

"The healer is here!" Rin announced, leading a handsome demon into the room.

"Ah, our guest has rejoined us." The healer moved with the grace of a dancer. He had long, chestnut hair and a long flowing tail like a horse. Instead of feet he had hooves, but his hands were strong and graceful.

"I am Takanou," the healer introduced himself with a bow. "Let's see how you are doing."

Kagome hesitated. Threat? No, if Sesshomaru wanted me dead he would do it himself, this must be the real thing. She nodded to the healer, moving her blanket away and trying to stand. Her knees gave way and she sagged to the floor. Takanou caught her and lifter her back into bed. "Tsk, you are much to weak to be trying such things. Stay there and let me check your wounds."

The outfit Kagome was wearing was in two pieces, allowing the healer to check the gash on her stomach with minimal embarrassment. Seeing her blush Takanou chuckled. "How do you think I cleaned and bandaged this when you got here? Do not be embarrassed, I mean you no harm of any kind."

Kagome smiled sheepishly. "Arigato, Takanou-sama."

Now Takanou was smiling sheepishly. "Just Takanou, please."

Takanou straightened Kagome's clothes, avoiding her eyes until he was done. "You are healing well, but you need to stay in bed. I will have dinner brought to you."

Takanou bowed and let himself out.

"Miko-sama . . ."

"Rin, call me Kagome" Kagome interrupted.

"Kagome-chan, what will we do? You are stuck in bed and Rin wants to be with you! Sesshomaru-sama is still working."

'She's so cute, she reminds me of Shippo. I wonder how Shippo is, anyways. Well, since I'm stuck here I should give her some real company. I still have some of Shippo's stuff with me, don't I?'

"Hmm, did Sesshomaru-sama bring my bag with me?"

"Hai!" Rin ran through a door on the side of the room and returned with Kagome's yellow back pack.

"Thank goodness, now I have something for you to do, Rin." Kagome pulled out a box of crayons and a notebook. "We are going to draw!"

"What are those, Kagome-chan?"

"Here, I'll show you."

----

Sesshomaru had finished meeting with his advisors, discussing the plans to strengthen his empire now that Naraku had been destroyed. Now he would return to his room for some peace before the evening meal. Rin would want to go out to the gardens after the meal, of course.

Rin's giggles reached his ears, along with an unfamiliar voice. 'The miko is awake.' Sesshomaru walked past his door and looked into the miko's room. Rin was working with paper, making some sort of painting, but without water. The miko was working with her, also painting without water. Rin was chattering away, telling the miko a story.

"And then Jaken said 'You get back here, you naughty girl!' But I pretended not to hear him and kept running and ran all the way to the meadow! And then I found the most beautiful flowers and picked some for Sesshomaru-sama, but Jaken was still chasing me, so I . . ."

"Rin."

Kagome startled, jerking upright at the cold voice.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin squealed, running to the demon lord. "Is it time to eat?"

"Hai. You need to change."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin ran from the room.

Kagome eyed the Great Lord nervously. "S – Sesshomaru-sama . . ."

Sesshomaru simply stared with his face blank.

"Um, I, um . . ."

"Yes, miko?"

"T – thank you for saving me, Sesshomaru-sama."

A long moment of silence.

"Sesshomaru-sama? Why did you bring me here? What am I doing here?"

Sesshomaru ignored her. "How did you end up unconscious and alone in that field?

"Nani?"

Sesshomaru walked to the side of her bed, gazing at her with cold eyes. "Do not pretend that you did not hear, ningen. How did a powerful miko become unconscious in a field full of demons without that hanyou she travels with?"

Tears were threatening to put in an appearance, but Kagome fought them back. 'I will _not_ cry in front of him!' She forced herself to look calm. "I'm sure your healer has told you how I became unconscious."

One eyebrow cocked at her impertinent response. "You were injured and exhausted. But where was the hanyou?"

'Will _NOT_ cry!' "Your brother is gone, Sesshomaru."

"You will use respect when addressing the Lord of the Western Lands."

Kagome glared. "Yes, my lord," she growled through her teeth.

'Growling? How unusual in a ningen. Rather appealing, to see some strength being displayed. I wonder if she knows what she is starting?'

The unbidden thoughts came and went quickly, but Sesshomaru was sure that he would be analyzing that after he was away from the miko. "Where has the hanyou gone?"

Bracing herself, Kagome whispered, "He followed Kikyou into hell."

'That undead miko?' Surprise flashed through Sesshomaru's eyes, but was quickly hidden behind his mask. "He was more of a fool then this Sesshomaru thought."

Kagome hung her head, then returned her gaze to Sesshomaru. "Now, about my question. Why am I here?"

Sesshomaru turned and walked to the door. "Food will be brought to you here. Do not attempt to leave this room."

"Sesshomaru!" An icy glare made Kagome pause. "My lord, why . . ."

"Rin needs a companion."

Kagome did not even see him leave, he was simply not there anymore.

'Is that truly all that is going on? A friend for Rin? But it makes no sense! He wants me dead! Right? Then why am I still alive? That jerk, I know he's hiding the real reason why I'm here. I just have to figure it out. I don't have much else I can do, stuck in bed like this.' Kagome glared at the ceiling. 'I'm so bored!'


	2. A Ghost of a Smile

A/N: Since this is my first FanFic I'm desperate for reviews. Please please please! Oh, and I don't own anything. Mwahahahahahaha, I own nothing! HA HA HA Ha ha h . . . -sniff-

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Sesshomaru walked through the gardens, guarding Rin and mulling over his reaction to the miko.

'_Rather appealing, to see some strength being displayed. I wonder if she knows what she is starting?'_

'Where had a thought like that come from? A rude ningen should be knocked into place, not cause a reaction of that sort.'

Sesshomaru's eyes tightened. That reaction was for an acceptable female that was courting, not a worthless ningen. Had he been away from the company of acceptable females so long that he would consider a ningen's coarse behavior as courting? His body evidently thought so. Remembering the ningen glaring at him and growling made his pulse quicken. She had acted just as a inu-youkai would when refusing to submit. He had always preferred strong females who would not simply give way to him. They always gave in the end, but the battle . . .

"Sesshomaru-sama, a shooting star!" Rin giggled and ran as though chasing the star.

'Thank you for the interruption, Rin,' Sesshomaru thought dryly. His thoughts had been circling to a dangerous place. Evidently he did need the company of an acceptable female. Maybe two.

"Rin."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin happily ran back to the demon lord and followed him to the palace. She was having trouble keeping up with the lord, so he swept her up and carried her to the palace. As he passed under the miko's window he saw her gazing at him.

Kagome watched as Sesshomaru carried the human child back to the palace. There was no doubt that Rin adored him, and that he most definitely did not hate her. 'How had Rin worked her way so deeply into Sesshomaru's heart? He has no emotions except hate, but then he looks at Rin. I don't understand!'

Sesshomaru looked up to the window, locking eyes with Kagome. She gulped and snapped the window shut. The youkai did not look happy about Kagome spying on him.

Rin was settled into bed with little fuss. The girl was tired and fell asleep with Sesshomaru watching over her. She did not like to fall asleep alone. Once he was certain that the girl was truly asleep, Sesshomaru made his way to his own room. He could hear the miko breathing slowly, obviously asleep. He slid the door open, looking at the ningen. She looked tiny and helpless in the huge bed. Rather like Rin.

'A better reaction to the ningen then I had before, but not by much.' A soft sigh escaped the youkai. 'Damn her. Even for Rin I will not allow her rebellion in my own home. She is a ningen and will obey me.'

Silently he slid the door shut, continuing on to his own room. He could not hear the miko, but he could still smell her. Sesshomaru paced, unable to be still in his own room. After a time he forced himself to be still. Not even this small victory would be allowed to the miko. He would ignore her and have peace in his own quarters. Sinking down to sit at the table in his room Sesshomaru poured a cup of tea. His servants knew to leave a strong pot in his room when he returned with Rin after walking in the gardens. The miko would cause no more disruptions.

The moon was high when he heard the miko stir. Curious, Sesshomaru moved to the door connecting their rooms and slid it open. The miko was still asleep, but appeared to be caught in a nightmare.

----

'_Not again. Not again.'_

Kagome recognized the moment. Inuyasha was holding her in the woods. Kikyou lay a short distance away, her clay body failing.

"Kagome, I want to be with you. I want to live with you and enjoy all the things we have missed while fighting. But I promised. I cannot let Kikyou die alone, I promised her that I would go with her. She needs me."

'_I need you, Inuyasha!'_

"I couldn't leave without saying good bye to you. I had to tell you . . ."

'_No! You can't say it then leave me!'_

"I love you, Kagome."

In her mind Kagome screamed, _'Stop! Stay with me! Inuyasha!'_ but her body would not obey. She stood perfectly still, watching as Inuyasha leaned down and kissed her, so softly. She had wanted this for so long, but not like this. Not with him leaving!

"I have to go Kagome."

'_Stop! Sit! You can't leave me!'_

Kagome could not speak or move. Inuyasha lifted Kikyou into his arms and carried her away, followed by her soul collectors.

'_Inuyasha!'_

Her shirt was soaked in blood, everything was going black. She would die alone, Inuyasha was gone.

'_INUYASHA!'_

----

Kagome snapped awake covered in a cold sweat. 'The same nightmare. Why must I live that horrible night over and over again?'

The sobs escaped her and she was too weak to fight them. Kagome dropped her face into her hands, rocking on the bed. "Inuyasha. How could you?"

Sesshomaru watched from the open door. That hanyou. The miko had been dreaming about that filthy hanyou. From her behavior Sesshomaru could assume that he had betrayed her. Why else would she have nightmares and sob like this? 'Stupid ningen, wasting her tears on a fool that chose to die for a corpse.'

"Stop that noise."

Kagome snapped her head up, searching for the source of that voice. She found Sesshomaru standing in a doorway that she thought led to a closet. "Why were you in my closet?"

Sesshomaru raised one eyebrow. "This is my room, and your sobbing is very loud."

Kagome bit her lip and forced a mask of calm. "I apologize for waking you Sesshomaru-sama," she forced through clenched teeth.

Claws dug into the wood of the door frame at her sarcasm. "Do not try me, miko."

Kagome snapped her gaze away. She took a deep breath and slowed her heart. "I am fine, Sesshomaru-sama. I will not disturb you again."

Sesshomaru turned away, then paused. "Do not waste your tears for a fool who chose a corpse for a mate. It was his mistake to make."

The door slid shut, leaving Kagome alone again. 'A fool who chose a corpse for a mate. It was his mistake to make. I suppose, but it still hurts. How horrible am I that he chose a corpse over me? I don't want to feel this way. I would give anything to take that whole night away. I would have found something, anything to make it different! Even if I had to wish on the Shikon Jewel . . . No, I wouldn't have done that. Damn. It doesn't matter anyways, I can't take it back. I may not like it, but this is my life now and I have to live it. Damn, that means the Sesshomaru was right. I'll never let him know, though. He's so smug to begin with. Bastard.'

Kagome flopped back into the bed again, grumbling about arrogant demons. The arrogant demon was relieved that the sobbing had stopped and that she no longer reeked of hopelessness, but that grumbling was distracting. Too much like her growling.

'There is no peace here.' Sesshomaru retreated to the far end of the palace where he would no longer hear the miko's noises.

----

"Kagome-chan, wake up! It's Rin!"

Kagome groaned and rolled over. "Rin?"

"Kagome-chan, the sun is up! Wake up!"

Kagome tried to pull the blankets over her head. "Oh, no Rin. Kagome-chan does not wake up with the sun. Come back later."

Rin grabbed Kagome's blankets and hauled them off of the bed. "Silly Kagome-chan, everyone wakes when the sun says so!"

'A losing battle.' Kagome sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I'm up Rin, I'm up."

"Yea! Now we dress for breakfast, we do not want to be late!" Rin flung herself off of the bed and into Kagome's closet. At least Kagome assumed that this was her closet. She had thought that the other door was her closet and it had turned out to be Sesshomaru's room. Now she was apprehensive to try any of the doors.

"This! Wear this one today! It's very pretty." Rin dumped a luscious blue kimono on the bed, tripping over the hem. Kagome gasped.

"Oh no, Rin, that is much to nice, and it's not mine! I'll just find my own clothes."

"This clothing is more appropriate." Sesshomaru was standing in the doorway watching Rin wrestle with the kimono. "It was brought to this room for your use."

Kagome stared at Sesshomaru. 'Does he ever make noise? I will die of a heart attack if he keeps sneaking around like that!'

"I appreciate it, Sesshomaru-sama, but I really don't know if this is appropriate for a simple thing like breakfast."

"You will dress appropriately in this house." He was gone.

"Kagome-chan, don't you like the one I picked?" Rin looked ready to cry.

"Of course I do, Rin, I'm just not used to such fancy clothes." A fake smile covered Kagome's irritation. 'And I don't want to do anything he tells me. What an arrogant bastard he is!'

"Yes, Kagome-chan wears very strange clothes. This is very pretty though, and it feels very nice." Rin was curling up in the kimono like a cat.

"I suppose this means that I am getting out of bed today." Kagome carefully stood up, glad that her legs were supporting her today. She doubted that Rin would be able to get her back into bed the way that Takanou could.

A silent servant came into the room and bowed. Without a word she helped Kagome out of her sleeping garments and into the kimono and all of the pieces that went with it, carefully arranging the layers for the desired effect. Kagome was seated in front of a mirror and her hair was brushed out and swept up into a bun. A silk ribbon topped off her hair. The servant reached for the makeup, but Kagome jumped to her feet. "No, no, arigato."

The servant looked mystified, but bowed and left. "Kagome-chan, you look so pretty!"

"Do you really think so, Rin?"

Kagome studied herself in the mirror. She looked like someone else, dressed in royal blue with white and gold flowers. She had never worn something so luxurious. However, the long sleeves were a concern. Breakfast was no place to be trying this look out for the first time!

"Rin, if I have to dress like this the least we can do is brush out your hair."

Rin gasped. "Oh no, Kagome-chan!"

"Oh, yes! Come 'ere, you!"

Rin squealed as Kagome tackled her. "Ah, Kagome-chan! Help! Not Rin's hair!"

"You will look so cute with your hair done, do you want a bun like mine?"

Rin paused. "Rin like Kagome-chan?"

"Sure, why not? If you hold still we can have you cleaned up and not be late for breakfast. Don't you think Sesshomaru would like it if you looked nice for breakfast?"

"Hai." Rin plunked down and squeezed her eyes shut. "Okay, Kagome-chan, Rin is ready."

Kagome set to work with a brush, carefully working out the tangles without pulling. When her hair was smooth as silk she swept it up into a bun like her own. Rin even had a bow tied around it in gold. "It's okay Rin, you can look now."

Slowly the tiny eyes opened. "Oh, Kagome-chan, Rin looks like you! Now Rin must change, help Rin!" Rin grabbed Kagome and dragged her to the next room over. "Help Rin dress nicely for Sesshomaru-sama!"

Laughing, Kagome scooped up Rin. "Okay, Rin, but now we have to hurry. The surprise will be ruined if we're late."

----

Sesshomaru was annoyed. Where was Rin? She was late, and she was never late. Was this the miko's influence? Rin's giggles were coming down the hall. 'There she is. That miko had better have a good excuse for this.' Golden eyes swung to the door of the dining hall, glaring at the latecomers.

'Who are they?'

A quick test of the air confirmed that this was the miko and his Rin, but not as he was used to seeing them. Both were dressed in fine clothing with their hair neatly pulled back. Rin was hanging onto the miko's hand, looking nervous in her new attire. Sesshomaru recognized the kimono as one that he had chosen for her on one of his trips. He had not been surprised when Rin never wore it, but did hang it up carefully and told everyone about it.

The two friends made their way to the table, trying to be unobtrusive. Sesshomaru's blank stare made Kagome nervous, but Rin was delighted. "Sesshomaru-sama, do you like Rin this way?" Rin darted over to the demon lord, twirling so he could see her choice in clothing. "Kagome-chan helped me."

"Hai, Rin, this clothing is appropriate, but this is a meal and you must sit."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama!"

Rin plunked down next to the miko, beaming at the thought of pleasing Sesshomaru. She knew he was happy to see her looking so nice and in the kimono he had brought for her. Breakfast was brought for her and was attacked with vigor. Soon her kimono would not look as fine, but she did not care.

The miko looked uncomfortable in her new clothing, desperately trying to keep her sleeves under control. Sesshomaru was amused to see her losing the battle to her clothing. She was eating much more slowly then Rin, trying to keep herself clean. It pleased the tai-youkai to see her so put out with the situation.

Kagome wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a ghost of a smile on Sesshomaru's face as he watched her trying to eat. All he was having for breakfast was tea, but Kagome was starving and desperately wanted to inhale her breakfast. She was much too aware of how much her kimono was worth and did not want to get anything on it. Eating was a slow, careful affair when dressed like this. 'I can't stand these sleeves!'

After what felt like an eternity Kagome was able to finish her breakfast. Rin had finished long before her and had darted out of the room, ready to play. She was alone with Sesshomaru, who was ignoring her. His face never changed as he sipped his tea and watched everything. "May I be excused, Sesshomaru-sama?"

Sesshomaru gave her a long stare. "Hai."

Feeling rather like Rin, Kagome made a break for freedom.

----

After being out of bed for the first time in days Kagome was ready to go back to her room. Her legs were starting to shake and she felt dizzy. Evidently she had not completely recovered yet. In her room Kagome struggled to get out of the kimono. Twisting and turning she tried to get herself untied from the layers of silk. All she managed to do was get herself stuck, a knot keeping her obi tied. She did not know where to find a servant, but she could not lay down dressed like this. She would suffocate! 'Where's Rin? She could help me.'

Rin was not in her room, or in the hallway. Kagome set off down the hall, poking her head in each room trying to find anyone who could help her. She was tired and wanted to lie down. She was not even aware that Sesshomaru was watching her. The first time she noticed him was when she slammed into his chest and fell on her butt.

"Ah! What are you doing there?"

Sesshomaru stared down at her. "This Sesshomaru lives her. Why was the miko going into Sesshomaru's room?"

Kagome blushed scarlet. "I didn't know it was your room, I was looking for Rin. I need to find the servant who helped me this morning."

Sesshomaru raised that eyebrow. "You cannot get undressed on your own?"

The blush darkened two more shades. "Have you ever tried to undo one of these things?"

Realizing what she had just said Kagome went from red to white. She held her breath, afraid of what the demon lord would say.

The ghost of a smile was back. "Hai. Do you require my assistance?" His voice was completely dead pan.

Kagome scrambled back. "No, no, I will mange. T-thank you, my lord." She struggled to her feet and disappeared into her own room.

Once safe Kagome could start to breathe again. 'Kami, what was that? Was he teasing me? Since when does he have a sense of humor? And I'm still stuck in this thing!' The struggle resumed. The option of scissors was coming to mind when the silent servant returned.

"Oh, arigato! Arigato!"

The servant looked even more mystified, but helped Kagome out of the garments with practiced ease. The kimono was put away carefully, replaced by a simple robe. "Ah," Kagome sighed. "I can move again." The servant turned down the blankets and tucked her new charge into bed. Shutting the windows so that it was dark, Kagome's savior turned to leave.

"Wait! What's your name?"

The servant froze, then slowly turned to face Kagome. "I am called Kumo."

"Arigato, Kumo."

Kumo bowed low, then silently left.

Alone in the silence Kagome's exhaustion quickly took over. She fell into a deep sleep and did not stir until the sun was low in the sky.


	3. Fragile

A/N: I still own nothing. No luck in the whole takeover department. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for my reviews so far, keep 'em coming!

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Sesshomaru was meeting with some of the members of court, discussing the destruction of Naraku and his incarnations. With the destruction of that hanyou there had been an increase in the low youkai attacking in his lands. His forces had been distracted by dealing with these problems instead of watching for trouble from any of the other lords.

"The hanyou has been destroyed, my lord?" One of the nobles seemed to wish for his destruction and had been repeating questions that had already been answered.

"Hai."

"Is it true that a miko was the one to destroy him, and that she also destroyed the Shikon Jewel?"

"This has already been explained."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama. I was just wondering if that miko is the same that is currently in the palace."

'Ah, now I see where this is going. This baka will not live through this meeting if he does not stop now.' Sesshomaru forced his mask to stay in place over his annoyance. "This is none of your concern."

"We were only concerned at having a miko of this power here, my lord. We do not wish to be purified out of existence if we should startle her in the corridor."

A small snicker escaped from one of the nobles at the comment.

The annoying noble was backhanded through a wall. "This Sesshomaru does not answer to you. Out."

The nobles scrambled to get out of the hall, leaving the unfortunate one to pull himself out of the damage and limp out on his own. None of them ran, that would just make their lord strike them down like prey. No one but a fool would run from an enraged inu-youkai, it engaged the prey drive.

Alone in the great hall Sesshomaru gazed into the distance. 'Damn nobles. It is very tempting to eliminate the lot, but they serve a purpose. At times. And this time they are voicing a legitimate concern. Sleeping in the room next to mine is a miko that has already shown the ability to destroy a troublesome hanyou. What is to keep her from destroying a troublesome youkai, such as the ones in the court? From what I have seen the ningen seems to be mostly untrained, and as such unstable. Perhaps I should have left her in that field instead of bringing her here. I need to know if she is a threat that needs to be eliminated immediately, and honor be damned. There is even less honor in allowing your enemy to destroy you in your sleep.'

As swift as a thought Sesshomaru went to the miko's room. She was awake, sitting up in bed and staring off into space. It took a moment for her to notice that Sesshomaru was there.

"Sesshomaru-sama, what is it?"

"Miko, you defeated Naraku."

'What kind of a question is that?' "Hai."

"How did you accomplish this?"

Kagome paused. She was not sure. She remembered grabbing Kikyou's bow and arrow as the clay body failed, damaged by Naraku. She remembered setting the arrow to the string and taking aim at the body that held Naraku's heart. Naraku had moved in front of her target, throwing up a barrier, laughing. She had smiled and whispered "Gotcha." The arrow had the brilliance of ten suns as it flew to it's target, destroying everything in it's path. A massive explosion had knocked anyone near it flat as the arrow had destroyed Naraku and his heart. Kagome remembered the explosion, then falling into darkness.

She did not even notice Sesshomaru moving to her bed.

"Miko." Sesshomaru was towering over her. "This Sesshomaru asked you a question."

Kagome glared up at him, then struggled out of bed. She would not let him tower over her while she was lying down. "I don't know! I don't know what happened, why that was different than any of my other sacred arrows. It just happened."

Sesshomaru stared. "You do not know."

"No, I do not."

"Then you are not in control of your powers after all."

Kagome glared. "I never said that, I just don't know what happened that time."

"Perhaps you are a threat to be removed, miko. You may not be able to control yourself." Sesshomaru's voice was flat, but held a threat. 'I will push her and see if she is a danger. I can strike her down before she could attack me; she is too weak and unarmed.'

Rage swept through Kagome. "I am not out of control, and I have a name."

"Miko, do not forget yourself again."

"I will do nothing until you use my name, youkai!"

Sesshomaru's eyes started to tint red.

'Oh great, now I've done it. Baka Kagome!' Kagome stood her ground, but knew she had pushed the youkai lord too far this time.

Sesshomaru grabbed Kagome by her shoulders and slammed her against a wall. Kagome ears were ringing as the wind was knocked out of her. "Miko, do not dare to speak to this Sesshomaru in that way."

"My name is Kagome!"

Sesshomaru shook her, knocking her head against the wall. Stars were floating in front of Kagome's eyes as she tried to focus on Sesshomaru's face. 'He looks like Inuyasha when he would lose Tetsaiga. Sesshomaru is losing it! How could he be so upset? What did I do?'

"Bitch." Sesshomaru was growling deep in his chest, his eyes glazing over with red.

"Youkai," Kagome growled back. 'Damn my temper, and damn him, too!'

The sound of Kagome growling at him triggered something. Like throwing a switch Sesshomaru's lust took over. He froze, staring at her eyes. Kagome took this opportunity to try and shove him away, pushing against his chest. Without thought Sesshomaru seized Kagome's mouth with his own, forcing her mouth open so that he could ravage the interior. His body crushed Kagome's against the wall, pressing his entire length against her.

Kagome could not even think. She felt her mouth being forced open, her body pressed into the wall. Fingers were digging into her shoulders as Sesshomaru ravaged her mouth, growling deep in his chest. Kagome yielded to him, softening and allowing Sesshomaru to run his hands over her. Lost in the kiss, his body crushing hers, a whimper escaped her as she struggled to breathe.

'Mine!' The most primitive parts of Sesshomaru's mind were in control, demanding that he take this female and make her submit. Hearing the female whimper made the heat rise higher. He ground his body against her, wanting more. His hands were roaming her body, feeling her shape through the silk. Feeling her soften and submit calmed the primitive voices, allowing Sesshomaru to regain some control over his body. He broke off the kiss, staring into the dark eyes that shone with confusion.

Sesshomaru pulled his hands off of her and put them on the wall. "Go. Now."

Kagome stared, unsure of where to go. She ducked under Sesshomaru's arms and hurried to the door.

"Do. Not. Run."

Kagome froze, staring at the demon that had his eyes shut, hands still against the wall. "H-hai." Kagome walked from the room on unsteady legs, trying to look calm when all she wanted was to run.

Sesshomaru held his breath, hoping the stupid ningen would manage to get away without triggering him again. If she had run he would not have been able to stop himself from chasing her down and finishing what had begun. Slamming his fist through the wall helped him to focus, staring at his own blood running down his arm. He needed to find an acceptable female. Only then would he be able to deal with the miko. She had acted as an inu-youkai female would. Standing close to him, demanding that he call her by her name, and growling at him. The only thing that had saved her was when she softened against him. If she had continued to struggle he did not think he would have been able to break away.

An acceptable female, there must be one in the palace. He moved through the corridors. With all of the nobles that insisted on wasting their time in his court there must be one somewhere.

A beautiful inu-youkai female caught his eye, sitting in the courtyard reading. She was the unmated daughter of a low ranking noble. Perfect. He would take care of these urges with an acceptable female.

----

Kagome did not know where to go. Sesshomaru was in her room and she did not know her way around in the palace. Her shoulders ached from his tight grip and her lips felt swollen and bruised. That was not what a kiss was supposed to feel like. A kiss was soft and loving, not harsh and hard. She felt, ravaged. How could she stay here after this? What had happened? It had been bad enough when Sesshomaru had thrown her against the wall, but then to kiss her and order her out of her own room.

Somehow she wandered into the gardens. Kagome moved out into the late afternoon sun, trying to stay calm. There were other youkai here, and the looks sent her way were not kind. They were not happy to have a human amongst them. The young woman moved into the gardens, trying to find a place alone where she could calm down and think. It was hard to concentrate with her aching head, courtesy of the arrogant son of a bitch in the palace.

In the gardens Kagome found an alcove with a single marble bench. Hidden away amongst the flowers she was able to breathe again. She sat on the marble bench, tentatively feeling the lump on the back of her head. 'Damn him.' Her shoulders, lips, and heart were all aching. Why? What had made him attack her like that?' She fought back her tears. 'I will _not_ cry. I won't let that bastard win. He would want me to cry, wouldn't he? It's probably some sick game to hurt me.'

"Kagome-sama, what are you doing here? Are you feeling so much better that you are out for a walk?" Takanou moved into the alcove with Kagome, smiling. After looking at her face the smile faltered. "Kagome-sama, what is wrong?"

A false smile was plastered into place. "Nothing much, I had an argument with Sesshomaru."

A genuine smile of sympathy was returned. "Ah, that does not surprise me. He has issues with strong willed humans." Takanou laid his hand on Kagome's shoulder in sympathy.

"Ah," Kagome gasped and flinched away.

"What is wrong with your shoulder, Kagome-sama?" The healer came to the fore as Kagome tried to squirm away.

"I have a bruise, it's just sensitive."

"Kagome-sama, stop. Just let me look." Takanou carefully pushed the shoulder of Kagome's kimono down, revealing the imprint of fingers that were already darkening into bruises. The healer hissed, then checked the other shoulder. "Kagome-sama, where else are you hurt?"

"Takanou, don't overreact. He held my shoulders too tightly and I hit my head, nothing more."

Takanou buried his hands in her hair, checking her for injuries. When he found the lump he flinched with her. He walked a short distance, then returned, pacing as he thought.

'It is not like Sesshomaru to strike a female, even a ningen. What had happened? What had she done to make Sesshomaru lose control like that? If she were a youkai I would half suspect an attraction, but that is impossible.' Takanou glanced over at the ningen. She was sitting amongst the flowers, her kimono still off of one of her shoulders. Her eyes were down, looking at her hands in her lap. The healer used one finger to lift her chin. "Kagome-chan. . ."

----

The female had done nothing to remove the image of Kagome from Sesshomaru's mind. His lust was under control, but he could still hear her growling at him in his mind. A quick sniff of the air told him where Kagome was, and that she was not alone.

Neither Kagome nor Takanou saw Sesshomaru, he was just suddenly there holding Takanou off of the ground by his throat. "Sesshomaru!" Kagome yelled.

"Do not touch her," Sesshomaru growled, glaring at the healer.

"No . . . offense . . . injured . . ." gurgled the choking demon.

"Her injuries are on her stomach, what exactly did you think you were checking?"

"New . . . injuries . . . shoulders . . ."

Sesshomaru dropped the healer and stared at Kagome. Her kimono was off of one shoulder, showing the dark bruises shaped like fingers. Kagome glared at him, then looked away, refusing to cover her shoulder. The youkai growled, "Leave, healer."

Kagome could hear Takanou scrambling away, coughing. She refused to look at Sesshomaru.

His hand reached out to touch her shoulder. Kagome flinched away, but the youkai caught her with his other hand, holding her still. Soft as a whisper, Sesshomaru ran his fingers over the marks he had left. "Where else are you injured?"

The soft voice made Kagome glance up at the demon. Her hand went to the back of her head. Sesshomaru's hand followed, feeling the lump. His eyes widened, finding the injuries that he had caused. She was so fragile.

"This was not intended."

Kagome looked into those golden eyes. Was Sesshomaru trying to apologize?

"Ningen are so fragile."

Kagome shot him a look, not sure how to take that. Did he mean to remind her of her weakness, or to say that he did not realize that she would be injured?

"Miko. Kagome. You should return to your room."

Shrugging her kimono back onto her sore shoulder Kagome nodded. She stood and moved away from the youkai, only to feel the world beginning to spin. 'Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse, I'm about to turn into a pile of mush in the gardens with the youkai that attacked me. Great. Why did I forget the whole injured thing again? Baka, Kagome.'

As she swayed Sesshomaru caught her. Without a word he picked her up, the same way she had seen him lift Rin and carry her when she was tired. Kagome sagged against his arm, too tired to even consider arguing.

Moving swiftly through the palace Sesshomaru brought Kagome to her room and set her into her bed. He pulled her blankets over her, the first tendrils of guilt picking at his thoughts for attacking a female in this way. Such behavior was forbidden amongst civilized inu-youkai. What caused this? Was he just some animal that could not control himself? His face stayed passive, but his eyes were tense, unsure of what to do now. Kagome was most of the way asleep already, her eyes drifting closed. "Rest."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama."

Sesshomaru moved out of the room, looking for a servant. "You. Watch the miko. When she wakes tell me."

"Hai, my lord."

Moving down the hall he found Rin in her room coloring. "Sesshomaru-sama, is it time for dinner?"

"Hai."

"Are we going to get Kagome-chan?"

"No, she is resting. We will walk in the gardens after the meal."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama!"

After Rin was asleep Sesshomaru would decide what to do with this ningen, Kagome.


	4. Hot Springs

A/N: Oh dear, seems I forgot to explain Sesshomaru's arm. Don't worry, it's coming. Patience is a virtue and all that stuff. 'K? I still don't own anything. Sob.

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Kagome was awake again. 'Kami, what an awful day. Can't it be tomorrow already?' Her head was feeling better and her lips no longer felt swollen, but her shoulders were still tender.

'Sesshomaru grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed me into a wall. He shook me and called me a bitch. Then he kissed me.' Her hand went to her lips. 'That was not expected. I've never been kissed like that before. Yeah, sure, I've only been kissed twice and both times by the same guy, but this was from another world! There was nothing soft, he wanted to devour me.'

Much to Kagome's embarrassment her lips were tingling as she remembered Sesshomaru's touch. She remembered leaning into him, not fighting anymore. 'I don't love him! Hell, I don't even really like him! Why do I want to kiss him again?'

Kagome sat up, shaking her head. 'I may have hit that wall harder than I thought. Obviously something has rattled loose.'

"Good evening, Kagome-sama." Kumo was standing in the doorway. She whispered to another servant who scurried away, then moved to care for her lady.

"Good evening, Kumo. Were you watching me?"

"Hai, my lady. Your dinner will be here in moments." Kumo lit the lamp next to Kagome and rearranged the pillows so she could sit comfortably. "Sesshomaru-sama is out with Rin-sama, but he will be back shortly."

"Wow, Kumo, that's the most I've heard you say since I saw you this morning."

Kumo blushed. "I will be more contained, Kagome-sama."

"No! No, I like having someone to talk to."

A servant carrying a tray slipped into the room. The tray was set in front of Kagome, causing her stomach to growl. The servant was gone before she could thank him. Kumo was moving about the room, straightening and putting things away. "Kumo, is there somewhere I could clean up? I would love to take a bath."

"There is a hot spring behind the palace. I can take you there when you are done eating if you feel strong enough."

"For a hot soak I will go anywhere!" Kagome was inhaling her dinner with no sleeves to slow her down. "A hot soak will probably do more for how I feel right now then anything."

Kumo glanced at her, but turned back to her work. Kagome-sama would need her bath supplies so that she could bathe after her meal. Sesshomaru-sama had not told Kumo that she was Kagome-sama's servant, but somebody needed to help this strange human. Many of the servants resented the human being there, but Kumo only saw a lost and lonely young woman. Not unlike her own daughter.

Kumo led Kagome through the palace carrying the towels and soaps she would need. The springs were everything Kagome could have hoped for. They were enclosed, with stairs carved into the rock. Marble benches and tables offered places to store clothing and to change. The hot springs were empty at that time, so Kagome quickly slipped out of her robe and into the steaming water.

On Kagome's fair skin it was hard to not notice the bruises. The cut on her stomach did not look too concerning as the bandages were removed, but the fresh bruises were caught Kumo's attention. Where had those come from? She did not have them this morning.

The servant's stare confused Kagome, then she realized what Kumo was staring at. "I had an . . . argument with Sesshomaru-sama."

Kumo fought not to react. "You need not explain to me, my lady. It is none of my business."

"You looked concerned, Kumo. Don't worry, I've been through much worse then a few bruises."

Kumo nodded, turning away. 'No, Sesshomaru-sama could not be courting this girl. That was impossible! But I could smell him on her, and what else could drive the lord to lay his hands on a female this way? The courtship between inu-youkai could be very rough, it could be more than this ningen could handle!'

Kagome sank down in the water to her chin. "This is heavenly, Kumo."

"Come, Kagome-sama, let me wash your hair."

"Oh, I can do that, Kumo. Really." The protests did not seem to do much good, since Kumo was already working on her hair. "Well, if you really want to, then I guess its okay."

----

The servant told him that the miko was awake and eating. Sesshomaru turned to Rin. "It is time to return. You may play in the palace, but you must not go outside in the dark."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama." Rin was disappointed that their walk was being cut short, but at least it was not straight to bed. "Is Kagome-chan okay?"

"She is fine, but do not disturb her tonight. She is resting."

"Hai, my lord!" Rin ran ahead, chasing a firefly towards the palace.

Now he must deal with the miko. His behavior during the afternoon had been repulsive, nothing better then an animal. Losing control to his youkai urges had never been a problem at home, only in battle. Now it had happened with this ningen. The lust was still there, despite coupling with the inu-youkai female. It was more controllable now, but it was the miko that his body desired.

'Why! Why this obsession? I have developed a reluctant respect for the miko from watching her in battle, but nothing else. I have tried to kill her in the past, where does the obsession come from?'

'_She defied you. A strong female who showed you no fear. She dared to touch you, to push on your body. She tried to make you obey her will.'_

'Keh.' Sesshomaru did not like those thoughts. 'If she is so strong how did she end up injured? If she had continued to act like a bitch in heat she may not have survived. But I meant her no harm.'

Sesshomaru's eyes widened. It was true, he had meant her no harm. Another youkai would have welcomed his behavior, but this human . . .

_A quiet, angry figure sitting amongst the flowers, her kimono slipping down her arm so he could see the marks on her. A cold glare before turning her head away._

'No. I am not an animal. She is unwilling. Not even a ningen will be forced. I will control myself.'

Rin giggled and sang, unaware of her Sesshomaru-sama's brooding thoughts. Sesshomaru followed her chatter, thankful for its soothing effect. There was little hope for peace in his home in the near future. 'Damn her.'

----

The miko's room was empty. There was no sign of a struggle, so she had left on her own. But where? Sesshomaru sniffed at the air, finding her scent. 'There, heading to the back of the palace. Is she trying to escape?'

Servants scattered as the youkai lord moved through the palace. 'What does that miko think she is doing? And who is with her? I recognize the scent.'

Kagome never saw him come in, he was just suddenly staring at both of the women. "You were not in your room." His face and voice held no expression.

Kagome stared back, too shocked to react. She was halfway out of the water, reaching for the soap. Sesshomaru was getting quite an eyeful of Kagome's naked form. Despite the danger of losing control again, he could not resist sliding his eyes over the muscular young body in front of him. Bubbles were sliding down skin that was pink from the hot water.

Kagome snapped out of it. "Ah! What are you doing? I'm naked! Get Out!" She ducked under the water up to her chin, blushing and glaring.

"Kumo, why is she here?"

The servant knelt and looked at the floor. "The lady wished to visit the hot springs. I followed her wishes, I did not know Sesshomaru-sama would be looking for her. Forgive me, my lord."

The same cold stare answered Kumo.

"Hey, it was my idea, leave her out of it!" Kagome came up out of the water to defend Kumo.

Sesshomaru's eyes returned to Kagome. She blushed even darker and ducked back into the water, but refused to look away.

"There was no harm done. Kumo, help the lady back to her room." Sesshomaru continued to stare at Kagome as Kumo grabbed a towel for her.

"I am not coming out until you stop starring!" A long sweeping look made Kagome wonder just how long she was going to be in the water. Sesshomaru had that ghost of a smile back. 'Oh, he is enjoying having me trapped like this. Damn hentai!'

Without a word the great lord left the two women alone. Kagome sighed, realizing she had been holding her breath. At least she would be able to leave the bath in peace.

----

Losing control was again a problem, but now for a different reason. Back in his room Sesshomaru allowed himself to chuckle. The miko had been furious, trying to hide and yell at him at the same time. She had been at a disadvantage, being naked, but she had certainly tried. 'She is so shy. With the clothes she wears you would think that she cared not who saw her, yet she acts like an innocent!' He fought the laughter back down.

It never occurred to the youkai that she may actually be an innocent.

----

Kagome glanced nervously at the door between her room and Sesshomaru's. "I don't suppose there is a lock . . ."

"A lock? Why would there be a lock, Kagome-sama?"

"Oh, no reason Kumo, just curious." Kagome plastered her best fake smile in place. 'Just hoping he doesn't pull one of his appearing acts while I'm changing.'

'Strange girl.' Kumo sat Kagome down and started to work through her hair.

"Kumo, you know I can do that for myself . . ."

"You are now my lady, Sesshomaru-sama has said so. My purpose is to care for you and assist you."

Kagome blushed. "I'm afraid that you are going to have a lot of spare time on your hands. I'm used to living in the woods around a fire. I don't need any help."

"My lady, you are no longer in the woods. You need help."

'Blushing is becoming a habit for me,' Kagome groaned in her mind. "You are right, Kumo. So, your job is to keep me looking like a lady?"

"Hai. You are very lovely. You should dress as a fine lady, it will please Sesshomaru-sama."

"Keh. I will not wear those sleeves for him. Only for Rin would I try to wear those sleeves.

Kumo was silent, not arguing with her lady but taking notes on what the lady would wear without argument. She would save the arguments for special occasions. Kumo had been serving young demon females for many years and knew how to manage them. This young human was not that different. In a matter or weeks she would have a routine down that would have the lady looking stunning without a fight. The trick was patience.

"If Kagome-sama is ready for the night I will go and leave her in peace."

"Arigato, Kumo. I really do appreciate your help."

Kumo bowed low, smiling. This female would be a joy to serve.

----

Kagome did not even startle when Sesshomaru appeared in the door. She was getting used to it. She would just hide in the closet when she wanted to change. The great and mighty lord was little better than a hentai!

"Are you well?"

Kagome studied the youkai's face. He showed no emotion. His voice gave no clue as to what he was thinking. "Much better, Sesshomaru-sama. It was a great relief to find that you have your own hot spring."

"Yes, you did seem to be enjoying yourself."

'Damn that blush! He's teasing me again!'

"I believe that you enjoyed the hot spring tonight as much as I did," she snapped, then slapped a hand over her mouth. 'Oh great, Kagome, you never learn. Just push the big powerful demon, why don't you. Is he laughing?' She couldn't be sure, but she thought she heard a low chuckle. His face showed nothing and his voice was devoid of clues.

"Hai. This Sesshomaru did enjoy the hot springs tonight."

The door slid shut.

Mouth hanging open Kagome stared at the door.

'What the hell?'


	5. In Control

A/N: Oh, pretty please, I need someone to give me some encouragement here! I've had about 400 visitors and two reviews! A big thank you for my two brave reviewers -hugs-. This is so new, I need to know how I'm doing, or I will continue to inflict my own twisted version of things on you:-p If that's not a threat I don't know what is. Oh yeah, still broke, still own nothing. Not even Sess . . . sob.

"Kagome-chan."

'Oh, Kami, no.'

"Kagome-chan!"

'Why? Why? Oh heavens why?'

"Kagome-chan! The sun is up! Now!"

'Life is so cruel.'

Kagome was just not used to getting up with the sun. Sure, she'd been doing it for a month straight now, but it seemed just that much more cruel for having it done to her each and every day. 'I'm bigger than she is, this is ridiculous!' The blankets were up over her head and she was determined that they were not going anywhere.

"Kagome-chan is so silly. Rin is up, now you get up!" Rin had the blankets and was pulling furiously. 'Oh, Kagome-chan is so stubborn! Rin must try something new. Ah!'

Rin dived under the blankets and squirmed up next to Kagome. "Kagome-chan, Rin can see you!"

Squeals of delight erupted as Kagome tackled the little girl and began to tickle her. "Ah, now I will show you why you do not taunt the great miko! Bwahaha!"

"Save Rin!" Rin was giggling and trying to get away, getting both of them tangled in the blankets. "Kagome-chan is very silly!"

"Hai, Rin. Maybe you will think twice before disturbing a sleeping miko now."

The two collapsed onto the bed, out of breath. As much as she hated the early mornings she had

to admit that she loved having Rin with her. The little one was so kind and open-hearted, willing to love everyone on sight. Even that arrogant youkai.

A little sigh escaped from Kagome as she ruffled Rin's hair. That arrogant youkai had been mostly missing in the past weeks. It was as though he was avoiding her. She was truly confused now. The youkai was at breakfast and dinner, she would see glimpses of him, then he would disappear. Sure, he did not miss an opportunity to put her out of sorts or happen to be watching when anything embarrassing happened, but there had been nothing in the way of a conversation.

He certainly had not touched her.

"Kagome-chan, we will be late!"

Kagome sighed and swung her feet to the side of the bed. The youkai was being an enigma. Even more so than usual.

"Good morning, Kagome-sama." Kumo paced into the room, seeing the now familiar sight of Rin and Kagome still in bed. Clothing was selected for Kagome and laid out, then Kumo went to fetch clothing for Rin. Somehow she had ended up with two ladies in her care, but she did not mind. After her lord's long absences it was a relief to have someone to care for. Kagome stood and stretched, eyeing Kumo's choices. No long draping sleeves, that rule was already cut in stone. As unfashionable as it may be she perfered her clothing to have a wrist or to be fitted like Sango's traveling kimono.

Kumo returned with clothing for Rin tucked under her arm, eyeballing her two charges that were still sitting on the edge of the bed. Kagome was stretching and yawning, still not fully awake.

"Ladies, it is time to get up."

"See, Kagome-chan? Kumo says the same thing!"

"Very well, since I'm outnumbered." Kagome stood and started to change. Kumo still had to help her dress. The layers of clothing were still more than she could deal with, she could never make everything lay the way it was supposed to! She peacefully sat to have her hair done with Rin seated in front of her. Rin refused to have anyone but Kagome touch her hair. Kagome felt a moment of peace and companionship as the three ladies worked quietly. Even Rin was busy, working on getting her socks on still and mumbling under her breath.

The peace was broken when Rin and Kagome realized that they were running late. Again. The elegantly dressed ladies bolted down the hallway, lifting beautiful robes up so that they could race through the palace. Kagome slid to a halt in front of the door, with Rin sliding into her and knocking her through the door. Of course. She was again in a humiliating position with that damn youkai looking at her.

Sesshomaru did not comment. He was getting used to his Rin and her companion coming in just late enough to irk him. The other changes in his Rin were much more acceptable then this one. He did enjoy seeing Rin dressed nicely with her hair neatly brushed. During the day she was watched over by Kagome, leaving Sesshomaru free to deal with his own duties without her prattling about. Jaken was now available to work on other duties instead of watching over the little girl. The situation would have been ideal, if not for the damn miko herself.

The two ningen had seated themselves and were working through their morning meal. Rin was chattering about plans for the day. Since the weather was nice she wanted to collect some new flowers to dry. The miko was quiet, nodding and giving the girl small encouragements, but overall focusing on her food.

'Very strange, I know that the miko is quite talkative and demonstrative with Rin usually, why is she so distant during a meal? She could not be nervous about my presence still, could she?' Sesshomaru had taken great pains to avoid the miko as much as possible, refusing to tempt the fates further. His rebellious body was not leaving him in peace. It had become a form of training, a way to practice self control to spend time with the miko each day. He had counted it as a victory the first night he was able to sleep in his own room. It was of minor consequence that he had been plagued by dreams with her, at least he had been able to sleep. He was not used to denying himself anything, and this was a new and unpleasant sensation.

The great lord peered over his tea at the young ningen seated at the table. There was none of the defiance and courage in her quiet pose, none of the growling in her voice. She looked the part of a polite, well-mannered female. Nothing to stir up his urges. And yet the smell . . . he could just barely smell her defiance as she sat through the meal. He could not prevent one corner of his mouth from quirking up as he watched the miko play the role of an obedient female.

'Now what? Now what is he laughing at me for? Did I spill something on myself again?' Kagome examined her clothing carefully. 'No, so what the hell?'

'I think I prefer to see her in the heat of battle, not playing this role,' Sesshomaru sighed. 'Now she looks like any other pretty little bauble without a thought in her head. She would not be able to keep this charade up for long. She would either break free, or she would change to fit the role. I wonder which it will be?'

After the two females had left he continued to sit with his tea, pondering what to do with this new twist. While he had not changed his mind in regards to his feelings of the miko, he still did not want to have her fade away to a decorative fool. There were far too many of them in the world already, and that was an influence that he did not want on Rin. His Rin would be able to care for herself. How old was she now? It was so hard to tell with humans. She had grown recently, it had been difficult to keep clothing that fit her around. Her head almost came to Kagome's shoulder now. Perhaps she was old enough to learn some new skills. The miko and his Rin could stand to learn some basic defenses. It should not be too difficult to find an instructor for them. It would help keep both Rin and the miko from becoming flighty, timid creatures.

His mind made up Sesshomaru marched into the courtyard, catching a glimpse of Kagome and Rin heading out to the gardens. Rin was off to collect her flowers, no doubt. Sesshomaru had things to attend to, but first he wanted to arrange for an instructor. One that would not frighten the ningen more then necessary, but that was experienced enough to prepare them for the deadly world outside of the palace's walls.

'Takanou. He is an able fighter as well as a healer. Both of the ningen knew him and would not be concerned by him.' Sesshomaru grimaced as the image of Takanou and Kagome in the garden together. 'The fool will know to keep his hands to himself. The healer is not a great warrior, he would not challenge this Sesshomaru. Perhaps a small reminder, just in case the healer is forgetful.'

----

Rin had burned enough energy to allow them to return to the palace. The afternoon could be spent pursuing quieter projects than trying to get Rin back out of that tree. How she had gotten herself up so high was still beyond Kagome's understanding. Kumo would be very displeased with the rip in her clothing, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Rin had her armful of flowers to dry and arrange, Kagome was sure that at least some would be in young girl's hair come dinner. Rin disappeared into her own room, giving Kagome some time alone. Kumo did make a very quiet disapproving sound when she saw the rip, but made no comment when Kagome pulled on a simple robe. After Kumo had left the room was quiet, allowing Kagome to pull out one of her school notebooks and begin to write. Separated from her diary she had taken to using one of her old notebooks to write down her thoughts. She certainly would not need the notebook for school notes anymore.

Tears were threatening again. Thoughts were turning towards home, a home she would never see again. How was her family? Mama, Gramps, Souta? Her school friends, even HoJo, she would never see any of them again. There was not even an explanation for them, she had simply disappeared. How long until her family would begin to worry? Would her mother pace about, wondering about her daughter? How long until they stopped waiting? The threatened tears were starting to escape and run down her cheeks. How had she ended up here, like this? She had a servant, and a child to watch over! She wore clothing that she could not get in and out of and watched Sesshomaru, looking for some clue as to his feelings. Since when did she even think that the youkai even had feelings, much less wonder about them?

She wrote furiously in her notebook, trying to organize her thoughts. Her old life had disappeared all in one day. Her goals of destroying Naraku and purifying the Shikon jewel had been completed. Her family was cut off from her. Inuyasha . . .

'Damn, still can't write that thought. I still cannot write that he chose Kikyou over me. Maybe if I don't write it that night never happened.' Kagome snorted at the foolish thought. 'I'm doing it again, dwelling on things that I can't change. I should be dwelling on what I can change. For instance, my life here.'

She was still trying to sort her own feelings on her life out. It wasn't bad, really. Good food, soft bed, warm clothes, an adorable little friend. But still, she was playing a role and she wasn't sure why or even how it had happened. Part of it was Kumo, her well intentioned servant who would slowly reshape her into a lady if at all possible. When dressed in clothes that made it hard to move she just could not be herself! This whole place made her feel like she had to act differently, the grand rooms and bowing servants making her quiet and uncertain. She had not raised her voice at all since that terrible day with Sesshomaru.

'And he's still avoiding me. What had he been thinking? He was so violent, but then he carried me back to my rooms. I still cannot believe that he actually did that, for a human no less! This is driving me insane!'

Kagome was writing so furiously that she was starting to get a cramp. Shaking her hand out she rearranged herself on the bed. She was now on her back, propped up amongst the pillows, concentrating on her entry so far. Her simple robe was open to the knee, giving a glimpse of leg that was quite distracting for the youkai that had come to call.

"Ahem, Kagome-sama."

Kagome jumped straight up, nearly tipping off of the bed. Takanou was standing sheepishly inside of the door. "Takanou! I didn't hear you." She had not seen the attractive healer since the day Sesshomaru and found them in the garden. That meeting had not ended well, with Takanou being threatened and tossed aside.

A warm chuckle came from the youkai. "I had guessed as much from your rather dramatic leap. Sesshomaru-sama has been to see me."

"Really? About what? I'm just fine, I haven't got anything but a little cut on my finger from rescuing Rin, again." 'I certainly hope that Sesshomaru has not thrown him about by the throat anymore.'

"It was a most unexpected request. It seems that I am to give lessons in self defense to both you and Rin-sama. I do not know why I have been selected for this position, but it is one that I believe could be quite enjoyable. It will be nice to concentrate on physical activity instead of mental labors." Takanou was wearing his most friendly smile.

A bright smile flooded Kagome's face. "Truly? Takanou, that sounds like a wonderful idea! I really could use the work, and Rin would love to be outside. Anything that burns up energy with that one is a blessing. I didn't think a healer would be a fighter as well."

"My family is full of brave warriors, so I learned to fight as a young foal. When I decided to become a healer my family was rather disappointed, but they accepted the inevitable. I was usually too busy patching up my family to actually go to battle myself." Takanou glanced at Kagome and blushed. "Unless you would prefer a more accomplished warrior as your instructor."

"No, no, Takanou, I love the idea of learning from you. I don't see a lot of friendly faces here, I can only imagine what some of the 'experts' here would do to a pair of 'ningen females'." Kagome's face was bitter, her voice becoming ugly as she thought about the whispered comments she had heard.

'She looks very lonely,' whispered through the healer's mind. 'I wish I could comfort her, but Sesshomaru-sama has made my boundaries very clear. I am to stay strictly as an instructor or fear facing his wrath. There is no way I will forget his behavior in the gardens when she first arrived. That outfit is becoming very distracting, does she not realize that I can see her legs?'

"Takanou-sama! Rin has missed you!" Rin gave the healer a quick bow as she ran to Kagome's bed. "Kagome-chan, what are you doing?"

"Kagome-sama, I will take my leave. Shall I see you and the little one tomorrow when the sun is just above the tallest trees?"

Groaning at the thought of a lesson so early Kagome agreed. She would be up anyways, Rin ensured that.

"Until tomorrow, Kagome-sama." Takanou bowed himself out.

"Kagome-chan, why are we going out to meet Takanou-sama so early tomorrow? What will we be doing?" Rin was beside herself with curiosity.

"Well, jo-chan, it seems that we will be taking lessons with Takanou-sama on how to fight. Sesshomaru-sama has decided that we need to be able to defend ourselves." Kagome glanced at her notebook. It looked like her peaceful reprieve was over. She would need to finish this when Rin went out with Sesshomaru for their walk that night. Rin for her part was fascinated by the little marks in her notebook.

"What are those? What are those squiggly little things you are drawing?"

"Those are words, Rin. I'm writing about things that happened today."

"Oh. Can Rin make words too?"

"Would you like me to teach you how to write, Rin?"

Rin nodded, her mouth in a silent little 'o'.

"Here, I'll teach you how to write your name first."

Sesshomaru stood outside the door, unnoticed by the two busy creatures inside. He could hear Kagome walking Rin through the first lessons on how to write. No doubt Rin would also be learning how to read in the near future. Yes, bringing the miko had been a good decision. Despite the problems her presence had caused Rin was being kept busy. The whispers were that he was keeping two pets now, but the whispers were much quieter after he had thrown that impudent whelp through a window. Nobody questioned him in his own home.

There was a strange feeling of peace from watching the duo working together. 'Was this what it is like to have a family about?'

An undignified snort escaped him at the thought. 'My family will not be like this. It will be a great youkai training my son, not a pair of ningen fawning over pieces of paper.'

"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin had heard the sound from her lord and was delighted to see him. "Rin is learning to make words!"

Sesshomaru stared blankly at the little girl. Kagome looked uncomfortable. "Sesshomaru-sama . . ."

Gold eyes flicked to Kagome's. "Miko."

Kagome's temper spiked, but she fought it down. 'I am not going to get into another brawl with him in front of Rin. Deep breath.' "Takanou came to tell us about our new lessons. I think it's a wonderful idea."

Blank stare. Kagome fidgeted. "Um, that is, Rin will love to be outside and running about, and . . ." Kagome trailed off, feeling very foolish. "Rin, could you run to your room for a second? Maybe you can pick some flowers for me to wear tonight."

"Hai, Kagome-chan!" Far too distracted by her new mission to notice Kagome's expression she skittered out of the room, dropping a quick bow to Sesshomaru as she ran past him.

Now Kagome glared at the youkai. "If you have something to say, my lord, please just say it."

"What would this Sesshomaru have to say?"

"You have been standing in my doorway, is there a reason for your visit or are you just here to stare at us?" 'One of these days, Kagome, you are going to learn to think before you open your mouth.'

"This is my home, this Sesshomaru can do as he pleases."

Kagome gulped. 'Definitely a threat there.' "Well, Rin may not mind you watching her all of the time but I'm not comfortable with it. I need to have some privacy!"

"Why do you believe that this Sesshomaru is watching you? Do you think that you are so important that you will be watched?"

'Damn that blush to hell!' Heat flared in her face as Kagome stared at the youkai. 'I don't even really have a comeback that doesn't make me sound like a stuck up princess.'

"You need not concern yourself about this Sesshomaru watching you. You have no interest to me. This Sesshomaru was looking at Rin." Despite his words Sesshomaru was most definitely watching the miko. Her robe was open past her knees and had slipped off of one shoulder. She seemed oblivious, but she presented a very tempting picture, especially being this frustrated. Perhaps a little shove. "As to the lessons, this Sesshomaru cannot waste his time watching over a miko that is always finding danger. Since you cannot control your own powers you must learn other ways to fend for yourself."

"I am not out of control of my powers!" Kagome was up in an instant, furious that he would bring that up again. Taking a deep breath, Kagome forced herself to calm down. She already knew that this youkai could only be pushed so far.

"Truly. You truly believe that."

"Hai!" Kagome managed to bite back the rest of her response, 'I'd be more than willing to show you what I can do, arrogant bastard.'

Sesshomaru was gone again, leaving just before Rin ran in with her hands full of flower. "Rin could not decide, so she brought all of them!"

Kagome shook her head and forced a smile. Now she would simply bide her time. Sesshomaru would see that she was in control, and that she was no weakling that needed protection. The image of a sacred arrow sealing that arrogant face to a tree came to mind, giving Kagome a reason for a true smile. "Here, Rin, I'll help you decide. If we put them all in my hair at the same time I'll fall over!"

That damn youkai will never know what hit him.


	6. What You Have Learned

A/N: Yeah, I know, the whole training thing is over done, but I really would love to see Takanou and Sesshomaru get into a fight. Or Kagome and Sesshomaru. Or some other variation of the group. Who knows, this may end up with Sesshomaru still single! -ducks flying tomatoes-. Anyways, while I love messing up their lives, I don't own any of them.

Kagome had underestimated Kumo, it seems. While Kagome had not even considered that she would need different clothing to wear to this fighting lesson, Kumo had heard about the lesson and arranged a change in wardrobe. Since the lesson was immediately after breakfast Kumo brought in some new outfits for her charges to wear to the morning meal. Kagome was delighted to see that she would be wearing something that allowed her to move again!

"This is what the ladies wear when they are training," Kumo explained, laying out the new clothes. "It is similar to what the men wear, but it is much more practical for moving about."

"Pants! I get to wear pants!" The new outfit actually reminded her of Inuyasha's clothing. It was cut to a similar style, with the baggy hakama and long haori. Unlike Inuyasha's clothing, though, her outfit was made of fine silk with embroidery around the cuffs and neckline. The hakama was cream colored while the haori was midnight blue. "I can almost get dressed by myself!"

"I am glad that you are pleased, Kagome-sama. Rin-sama, come and try these clothes on. They once belonged to my son and I think they will fit you." Rin was bundled into a similar outfit to Kagome's but in red. "A touch big on you, but I have no doubt you will grow into it quickly."

It was a wonder that they were able to calm Rin down enough to make it to her morning meal. Tackling her was the only way Kagome could catch her long enough to tie her hair back and herd her out of the room. A quick sprint through the halls brought them to their meal, not as late as usual. Sesshomaru was actually surprised to see them on time. He could not stop from sweeping his eyes over the miko, noticing the difference in her manners already. She was still quiet before the youkai, but she did not seem as uncertain. Rin was extremely excited and was chattering through her food.

"Sesshomaru-sama, what do you think we are going to do today? Rin is very excited, will Rin learn to fight like you? Will Rin have to fight youkais later? What will we learn first? Will Rin get to touch a sword? Can Rin . . ."

"Rin. Eat."

"Hai, my lord!"

Kagome could not resist flashing a thankful smile to the youkai lord, relieved at having somebody rein the incredible ball of energy in. Sesshomaru gazed back at her, a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth. 'Great, is he laughing at me or Rin?'

"Kagome-chan, Rin is done, can we go?" Rocking and bouncing, Rin was more than ready to go.

A great sigh, then "Hai, jo-chan, we can go." Rin was gone before Kagome could even move. "Uh, Sesshomaru-sama, may we be excused?"

"Hai. Miko, bring this with you, it is for Rin." Sesshomaru held out a small sword in its sheath. "She will need something appropriate for her size to practice with."

Kagome came forward and took the delicate weapon. "It's beautiful, where did you find such a perfect sword for her?"

"It was this Sesshomaru's from when he first learned to handle a weapon. It will make a suitably sized blade for her."

'Huh? His blade? He was that small?' Kagome had an image flash through her mind of a small Sesshomaru going through his first lessons with this sword. 'Kind of cute.' She flashed another smile at the youkai before hurrying out to catch up with Rin.

----

"Kagome-sama, I am impressed! You are no stranger to fighting, it would seem. A little unorthodox, perhaps . . ." Takanou was smiling again.

"Unorthodox? I just wanted to stay alive!" 'I'm enjoying this, having the chance to do something more than be meek and polite.' Kagome circled with her instructor, looking for an opening. "I've watched some pretty unorthodox fighters for a long time, maybe I've picked a thing or two up."

"Yea Kagome-chan! You can do it!" The tiny cheerleader was actually sitting down, having already been worn down, but was ready to yell encouragements to her friend.

This lesson had been in the use of a staff, since Kagome was leery of practicing with a blade. Rin had certainly enjoyed being set against a pell with a wooden sword, making ferocious yells as she attacked. Her new sword was hanging at her side. Knowing that the sword had been her Sesshomaru-sama's made it just that much more precious. Kagome did not know if she would ever be able to get that blade away from the little girl again.

Takanou saw Kagome's moment of distraction when she glanced over at the little girl. His smile became fierce as he dived in, attempting to sweep Kagome off of her feet. Takanou was fast, but Kagome had spent many years around youkai that were even faster. She darted back, swinging her own staff down to stop his. She followed through with a blow to his chest to knock him back. If it would have connected it would have knocked him back, anyways. What actually happened was a quick spin that put Takanou behind the ningen and allowed him to knock her down again. Kagome kicked out as she fell, knocking Takanou down with her.

The wind was knocked out of Kagome when the youkai landed on her, but she still wrestled with him. Staff gone, she had to resort to some less orthodox methods again. She squirmed, trying to get in a hit that would get the still surprised youkai off of her. She managed to give him a pinch in the side, making him yelp. Takanou had recovered, though, and now had his staff across her shoulders, pinning her face down. "Do you yield, Kagome-sama?"

Groan. 'Got me again.' Kagome stopped trying to kick Takanou with a sigh. "I yield."

With a swift movement Takanou sprang to his feet, offering a hand to Kagome. "I will admit, I thought you were already done when I knocked you down. I did not expect you to kick me. It would have worked better if you had not knocked me on top of you, though."

'Can I have just one conversation today that does not result in me blushing?' "Well, I didn't exactly plan it that way. Next time I must remember to get out of the way before you crush me!"

"You were wonderful, Kagome-sama!" The little cheerleader ran up to Kagome. "Rin thought you were going to get him that time!"

"Thank you, Jo-chan." Rin got a hug for her enthusiastic support.

"I believe that you have had enough work for one day. We can continue tomorrow, Kagome-sama. Until tomorrow." Takanou bowed to both of the ladies, then returned to the palace.

"Well, Rin, I believe that we need to go get cleaned up." Kagome was very aware that the last scuffle had gotten her covered in dirt from head to toe. Her damp hair was starting to escape from it's ponytail and was flying about her face.

"Hai!" The tiny hand grabbed the larger one and the two ladies made their way slowly back to the palace. Even Rin looked tired after her intensive exercise.

Kumo looked aghast when her charges returned. Kagome gave her a big grin, "It went well, no rips at all!"

The two were bundled into robes and were sent to the hot springs without even a chance to protest. After a soak the two collapsed into their beds for a well deserved rest.

----

Rin was quietly practicing writing her name in her room. Kagome was in the unusual position of having peace and quiet, but feeling restless. Dressed in a clean hakama and haori again she made her way through the palace, heading for the courtyard. A walk in the gardens sounded like a relaxing way to stretch her sore muscles. She had never trained in all of the years she had traveled with her friends. There had been no time, she had been too busy actually fighting and collecting shards. Seeing her staff leaning against the wall of the courtyard made Kagome smile. As much as she enjoyed shooting with her bow and arrows, there was something satisfying about learning this new style. Glancing about and seeing no one, Kagome lifted her staff. A quick check to see if anyone was watching, then she could practice. A little parry, a sweep, and then she was starting to get into it. The pell Rin had been using provided Kagome with something to hit. A small smile appeared as the miko worked on the skills she had learned that morning.

Standing in the palace Sesshomaru could hear someone working in the courtyard against a pell. The voice was female, and familiar. Through the window he could see the miko working against the pell with her staff, obviously enjoying herself. She had a fierce smile as she worked through the techniques her instructor had shown her. Instructor.

Sesshomaru growled. He had seen Kagome knock Takanou down, had seen the youkai pinning Kagome down underneath him. It had taken all of his self control to not knock the youkai across the courtyard.

The miko had stopped and was examining her staff. She looked rather like a warrior, dressed to train and holding her weapon. She smelled of sweat and pride, and it was intoxicating. This was the female that had caused him to lose control, this strong creature that refused to back down despite her weakness. Before he was aware of what he was doing Sesshomaru was making his way through the palace to the courtyard.

In the courtyard the miko had finished her examination and looked as though she was getting ready to leave, staff in hand. Sesshomaru growled. 'Not before I find out what you have learned.'

"Miko."

Kagome spun, surprised to see Sesshomaru staring at her. "Hai, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"You will show this Sesshomaru what you have learned."

Blanching, Kagome took half a step back. "What?"

The youkai was advancing. "This Sesshomaru wishes to see what the healer has taught you."

Wary, Kagome brought her staff in front of her. "My lord, I could just tell you . . ."

"Defend yourself, ningen."

'Damn arrogant son of a bitch!' Kagome snapped her staff up as Sesshomaru moved, almost to fast to see. 'How is this a demonstration?' Her experience with youkai helped her to predict what was coming, but it did not help much. Before she could move Sesshomaru was in front of her, reaching for her throat. Kagome slammed the staff up, knocking his hand away as she ducked and moved behind the youkai. 'He's too fast!' She did not get a chance to hit as Sesshomaru turned and grabbed her haori.

'Asshole!' Kagome slammed the staff down on Sesshomaru's foot, a rather unexpected and childish move, but worth it to see the youkai move his foot away with a flash of annoyance. The wild swing at his head did not do her much good, as Sesshomaru grabbed her staff with his other hand, freezing her attack.

"Still helpless, miko." Sesshomaru had a smug expression as he held the miko captive. "How you survived all that time with that hanyou is beyond me. Perhaps it is the undead priestess who should be getting the honor of destroying Naraku. It was her arrow, after all."

Power was starting to build in Kagome, a pink shimmer appearing around her. "I have a name!" Releasing the staff she grabbed Sesshomaru's arm with both hands. Her hands flared pink, burning the youkai's arm. "And I am not helpless!"

Sesshomaru snatched back, dropping her staff and breaking the miko's grip on his arm. Two angry burns showed on his arm and were still smoldering. Growling, Sesshomaru faced off against the miko again. Staff at the ready, the miko glared at him. 'Baka, Kagome. Now he's really going to kill me.'

The miko was still surrounded by her pink aura, her miko powers still active. Sesshomaru was not eager to close with her again. He circled her, more cautious now. He wanted to end this quickly, it was no longer a demonstration of her meager skills with a staff, now it was a battle of dominance. "Ningen, you would do well to not threaten this Sesshomaru."

"Ka – go – me!" The aura around her snapped at her rising anger.

Growling, Sesshomaru dove at her, hoping to knock her down without letting her touch him. He tackled her, knocking her to her back and knocking the wind from her. A glancing blow from her left a burn on his leg, but it was small and of no concern. The miko had dropped her staff, which Sesshomaru now used to pin her to the ground by her shoulder. "Yield, miko."

Still struggling to breathe Kagome glared up at Sesshomaru. "No." She grabbed the staff, causing it to glow with the same powers and burn the youkai's hands. Snatching the now free staff she swung it at her opponent, making him move back. She staggered to her feet, leaning on the staff. She could feel her powers starting to fade, she was getting tired. "Well, Sesshomaru? Do you yield?"

"Insolent bitch. Did you just ask this Sesshomaru to yield? You are too weak to stand on your own and you wish for this Sesshomaru to yield?"

Kagome laughed. "I figured I would give you a chance."

The youkai moved closer, watching the miko. "This Sesshomaru would not yield to a worthless ningen." His claws were starting to glow, poison working to the tips. "You will yield or this Sesshomaru will kill you."

Hefting up the staff, Kagome thought of the many times she had seen Inuyasha in such a hopeless position. "You can try, bastard." At least she would go out with a bang.

Sesshomaru slammed into the exhausted miko, dropping her to the ground again. Kagome did not even try to hold onto her staff, simply dropped it and latched onto Sesshomaru's body and did as much damage as possible. Sesshomaru knocked her off of him, growling at the new burns on his torso. The miko's aura had faded, she was now too drained to do anything. The youkai grabbed the front of her haori and lifted her off of the ground. "Yield, miko."

The miko glared. "Ka – go – me, bastard."

The plan for Sesshomaru was to backhand the miko, but he was far too distracted by having her so close to him again. He pulled her closer, eyes locked on hers, growling deep in his chest "Yield."

"No." She continued to glare, even as Sesshomaru reached for her neck. She would miss Rin, but there was nothing else for her. Nobody would miss her. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

The strike of claws did not come. Sesshomaru's hand rested against her neck, tracing her pulse as it pounded through her body. He was astonished. 'She will not yield.'

Kagome's eyes flew open and looked at the youkai's. They were still stained with red, but he was not looking her throat now. He was looking at her mouth. 'Oh, Kami, now what?'

Sesshomaru pulled the miko closer, secure that she was too exhausted to burn him again. He was fixated on her mouth, wanting to possess it again. It had been so sweet, to subdue the feisty woman and feel warmth against his body. He swooped his head down as quickly as a hawk and seized her mouth, holding her against him by her haori.

'Oh. That's what.' Kagome was again too stunned to think, once more under the assault of the youkai lord's mouth. Instinct took over as her hands ran up to his shoulders. He was hard and demanding, but his lips were warm and soft. A shiver ran through her spine as she began to kiss the youkai back.

The kiss ended when Sesshomaru broke away, shoving the miko back. Too weak to stand on her own Kagome stumbled and landed on the ground. Panting, the youkai looked down at her as though at war with himself. Kagome looked back up at him, confusion on her face. "Sesshomaru-sama?"

Without a word the youkai was gone again.


	7. Intentions

A/N: Wow, I feel so loved! Thank you for all of the reviews! Still own nothing, nothing has changed since last night.

"Easy, Kagome-sama, you are not supposed to brain your instructor!"

"Sorry, Takanou, I think I just got a little carried away." Kagome eased back, trying to remember that this was just practice and that she had no reason to hurt this particular youkai.

For his part Takanou was rather concerned. For the last five days Kagome had been practicing like one possessed. And not only had she been practicing, she had started to include her miko powers in her tactics. He was still sporting a burn on one wrist from a blow that she had not pulled in time. The healer felt as though he just might be in over his head, the miko was turning out to be quite a handful.

"What are you trying to do, Kagome-sama? Why are you pushing so hard? What happened with Sesshomaru-sama!" 'Oops, didn't mean to ask that last one. Baka, Takanou.' Takanou lowered his staff.

For her part Kagome was frozen, staring at the healer. "I'm sorry, Takanou, I guess I am working rather hard. I just don't like being called helpless!"

"Who's calling you helpless? I already have one burn from today, I certainly would not qualify that as helpless."

"I am sorry about that, Takanou. It's not you that I'm mad at. Damn arrogant bastard."

"Ah, Sesshomaru-sama. Did you have another . . . fight?"

"Don't worry, Takanou, you don't need to patch me up this time. I just got the wind knocked out of me a couple of times. He didn't follow through on any of his other threats this time."

"Threats?"

Kagome grimaced, and then did a pretty good impression of Sesshomaru. "Yield, miko, or die."

"You were fighting with him? Truly fighting?" Takanou was very concerned at this point. "You were not sparing?"

"It was supposed to be a demonstration of what I had learned, but it went out of control. No surprise there." 'Like that fool could handle losing even a little practice match.' Kagome realized she had a white knuckle grip on her staff and relaxed, shaking her hands out.

"Kagome-sama, what happened? Please tell me, this is very concerning. This is the second time you have had a physical confrontation with Sesshomaru-sama. He could kill you."

This statement earned Takanou a dark glare. "Gee, I didn't know that Takanou." Kagome sighed. "I was practicing in the courtyard when that youkai came out and told me that he wanted to see a demonstration. I didn't want to, but he attacked me. He was so fast, I didn't get a chance to do much more than jab him in the foot. Then he called me helpless, again. I lost my temper and burned him."

Takanou gasped, staring at the miko. 'It's a wonder she is still alive!'

"We were still fighting, I managed to burn him a couple more times, but it was no use, I couldn't stop him. Maybe I should have yielded, but I just couldn't do it! He waited until I was too exhausted to burn him again, till I was just helpless again. Then he snatched me off the ground by my haori and . . . " Kagome blushed, remembering what happened next.

"Kagome-sama, did he hurt you or try to kill you?"

"He said he was going to, I truly thought he was going to kill me, but he didn't. He let me go and disappeared." 'No reason to tell Takanou about the other bits.'

Takanou was in shock. "You never yielded?" At Kagome's firm head shake the healer sighed. "I am not sure if you are extremely brave or extremely foolish."

Kagome echoed his sigh. "I'm not sure myself. I hate the fact that he could just knock me around like that. I will _not_ be helpless!"

"Ah, so that is why you have been using your miko powers now."

"I'm not sure, but I think if I practice with them I'll get stronger. Do you think so?"

The healer paused, thinking about her idea. "I think it will, demons will work with their powers to make them stronger, so it should work for a miko as well. It makes me wish that there was someone who could help you train. I do not much care for us working with fire when we do not know how to control it." Takanou rubbed at his wrist.

"I'll be more careful with you, Takanou. I just forgot who I was fighting." Kagome gave him her most winning smile. "I have complete faith in your ability to train me."

'Oh, Kami.' Takanou was looking into that beautiful, smiling face. 'This is definitely playing with fire. And with Sesshomaru-sama's peculiar behavior it is twice as dangerous to befriend this ningen. But I cannot help myself, what a spirit!' "I appreciate your faith in me, Kagome-sama. Shall we try this again, now that you are calmer?"

"Hai, sensei!" Kagome was smiling now as she lifted her staff. It was getting easier for her to wrap the staff with her miko powers, making the simple weapon much more dangerous to youkai. "I will try to not brain you this time."

Takanou could not help but smile fiercely at her. "You will have to get close enough first, student. Be on your guard!"

----

Sesshomaru could not look away from the two practicing in the courtyard. The miko had been practicing day and night since their altercation five days ago. Instead of just enjoying the lessons she now seemed obsessed with improving. Sesshomaru grimaced when he saw Takanou jump back, trying not to be burned. 'I do not blame him. Those burns are painful and take considerable time to heal.' His own burns were only now closed and still ached slightly. If that miko learns to control her abilities she may very well turn into a dangerous opponent.

The healer had gotten the miko's staff away from her and was working her into a corner. She dived to get her staff, but Takanou intercepted and knocked her down. Kicking her staff away the healer said something to her. The miko smiled and shook her head, taking a swing at him with her hands glowing. 'Of course she did not yield, healer.' Sesshomaru could not help but smile. 'That one does not know what the word means.' Takanou did manage to pin her in the end, forcing a yield out of her.

The youkai watched as the healer pulled his student to her feet, showing her what she should have done differently. Sesshomaru growled deep in his chest when he saw Takanou standing behind the ningen, placing his hands on hers and guiding her through a series of movements. He did not like the sight of another male's hands on her. His lust was now being combined with some admiration for her spirit and a very grudging respect for her strength. She was no threat, he could kill her without a thought, but he could not help remembering her refusal to back down, even if it meant her life. No ningen had dared to look in his eyes and curse him before.

Fascinated, Sesshomaru continued to gaze down at the miko.

----

'Damn arrogant bastard.' Kagome saw Sesshomaru watching through a window, staring at her attempts to practice. "I am not helpless," she growled, locking eyes with the youkai.

Takanou looked at her, then followed her gaze. Sesshomaru-sama was looking at them and did not look pleased. Realizing that his hands were on hers and that his body was quite close to the miko's he stepped away. Kagome glanced back at the healer. "What's wrong, Takanou?"

The healer blushed. "I do not believe that my lord approves of my being so close to you."

"What?" Kagome's eyes swung back to the youkai staring down at them. "How exactly does he think you can teach me if you can't touch me?"

"I do not question when Sesshomaru-sama is that . . . determined."

Growling, Kagome glared up at the window. "What is his problem? He shoves me away, but then he is down right possessive. He needs to make up his mind!"

"Shoves you away?"

'Baka, Kagome. Now you get to explain that one.' "Oh, umm, when we were fighting he shoved me away from him."

"Kagome-sama, has Sesshomaru-sama been courting you?"

"What! No, nothing like that!" Kagome's cheeks were the flaming shade of red that Takanou was getting very used to. "Why would you say that?"

"It would explain his behavior, his possessiveness and concern over you."

"He threatened to kill me! Does that sound like courting to you!"

"Kagome-sama, please calm down. The courtship between youkai is not like the courtship between humans. Fighting over dominance is often a part of it."

Kagome had no response to that one. Sesshomaru's behavior had been so unpredictable that she could not even hazard a guess as to what he was thinking.

----

The raised voices in the courtyard were now easy for Sesshomaru to hear.

"He threatened to kill me! Does that sound like courting to you!"

'What the hell? What are they talking about? What is that healer discussing with that female?'

Without a second thought Sesshomaru was making his way to the courtyard.

----

Takanou had already noticed that Sesshomaru had disappeared from the window. "Kagome-sama, calm yourself, he is on his way."

"Nani! Why the hell is he coming out here?"

"To see why there is so much yelling in the courtyard."

The healer and the miko both spun around to face Sesshomaru. Takanou went white. "Sesshomaru-sama."

"Healer, explain yourself, what are you discussing with this female."

Kagome's temper was already up and she was not going to stand by and be called 'this female'. "Hey, it's Kagome!"

"My lord, I had been telling her your instructions on how I was to teach her and she was asking . . . questions. I was trying to explain . . . or maybe understand . . ."

"This Sesshomaru's behavior towards the ningen is of no concern to you. It is not something you have any business discussing."

"Hai, my lord." Takanou was bowing very low, hoping to avoid another beating.

"Then I would like to discuss your behavior towards me!" Kagome marched in front of the youkai lord. "It is my business after all."

"This Sesshomaru has nothing to discuss with you, miko."

"Not good enough, what is going on? Why can't Takanou touch me? He is just trying to teach me!"

"He is not to touch you. This Sesshomaru is allowing him to spar with you, no more."

"But you can knock me around as you see fit?" She didn't even see his hands move, he was simply holding her haori with her feet barely touching the ground.

"I do as I please," he growled.

"I am not yours. I am not a weapon or a pet. I have had enough of being used for one lifetime." She grabbed his wrists. "Let me go."

Sesshomaru hesitated. He really did not want to be burned again, but he did not want to turn her lose either. "Are you threatening me, ningen?"

"No. I am protecting myself, like anyone would. What would you expect?"

The youkai's voice dropped to a whisper that Kagome could barely hear. "I would expect no less from you." He slowly set her down. "This Sesshomaru will discuss your role here with you later."

After giving Takanou a last angry glare Sesshomaru walked back out of the courtyard.

"Okay, Takanou, explain that behavior, if you can. I certainly haven't got this figured out." Kagome was staring at the door Sesshomaru had disappeared through.

"I am not to discuss such things," Takanou started, then dropped his voice to a whisper. "But I believe I was right." Without another word the healer turned and left the courtyard.

Kagome was left alone in the courtyard. "Huh!"

----

"Kumo, I'm going for a long soak."

Kumo moved to the closet, "I'll gather your things, Kagome-sama."

"Don't worry about it, Kumo, I'm going to go on my own. I need to think." Kagome moved to take her bath supplies. "Just keep an ear out for Rin. Is she wanders out of bed again just herd her back. I swear that child has so much energy she can't even stay in bed while she is sleeping!"

"Hai, my lady."

Kagome wandered through the halls of the palace, enjoying the peace and quiet that came with the late hour. Everyone, including most of the servants were in bed and sound asleep. 'It's kind of creepy, with everything this quiet. It's usually pretty busy. It will be a great situation to think in, though. No disturbances.' Kagome pushed her way into the hot springs. 'A long soak is always the best way to unwind and the end of yet another confusing day. Damn him, what's the big idea hauling me around like . . . '

"Miko."

'What the hell is he doing up?' Kagome's eyes swept the room, finally finding Sesshomaru sitting in the hot spring with a bored expression on his face. He cocked one eyebrow at her. "You are staring."

"Oh, Kami!" Kagome spun around, facing back towards the door. "I didn't think anyone was up, I'm sorry. I'm going back to bed."

"Wait. This Sesshomaru did say he would discuss your role with you."

'Has he lost it?' "Uh, Sesshomaru-sama? You are Naked! I'm not discussing anything with you like that!"

A faint chuckle drifted over from the spring. Kagome could hear water splashing as Sesshomaru got out of the spring and moved across the room. "It is safe now."

A quick glance confirmed her worse fears. Safe meant that he had wrapped a towel around his waist, no more. 'Not safe, not by a long shot.' Kagome continued to stare at the door. "What would you say to me, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"You wished to know what your role is."

Kagome jumped a little, not aware that he had come up so close behind her. "Hai."

"You are a companion for Rin. She had need of someone of her own kind to stay with her."

"And what am I supposed to do around you?" she whispered. "What do you want from me? You alternate between slamming me into walls and . . . and . . ."

Hands landed on her shoulders, but they were soft as feathers. "This Sesshomaru is not . . . certain on your role. He would not do anything to an unwilling female, but in the face of such defiance instincts are harder to control."

"Instincts?"

"This Sesshomaru cannot just ignore a female that defies and challenges him."

"Kagome."

Sesshomaru sighed. Kagome was close enough to him that she could feel his chest rise and fall. The thought of him so close to her, and wearing only a towel, made goosebumps appear all over her body.

"This Sesshomaru would not expect you to understand, Kagome. The healer has told you that this Sesshomaru is courting you?"

'At least in the hot air my blush won't be as obvious.' "He was, uncertain, my lord."

"Are you unwilling?"

Kagome gasped. 'What exactly is he asking? Is he asking if he can . . . court me?'

Sesshomaru continued on while she thought furiously. "You did not seem, unwilling, when we fought last."

'He's got me on that one, I was most willing to kiss him. Why? No clue, I don't love him, I don't like him! He's an arrogant ass!'

"I do not love you. I don't even really like you, my lord."

"That is expected, but not the question that we are talking about."

'Huh? Did I miss a step in this conversation? Why does he want to court someone that doesn't like him?'

"Are you truly an innocent in these matters?"

'I want to melt into the floor right now!' Kagome's face was on fire and she clapped her hands against it. 'Why is he asking that?'

"This Sesshomaru will take that as a yes." Another sigh escaped the youkai, making Kagome shiver. "You are confused."

"Understatement, my lord."

"This is not about feelings. This is about the physical."

'Physical? Oh . . .' The hands on her shoulders were moving slowly, making small circles against her skin. Kagome leaned back into the pressure, enjoying the touch.

"Are you unwilling?"

'He is so stubborn!'

"I am, uncertain." She meant to stop there, but her mouth betrayed her. "I am willing, but . . ." She never got to finish her statement as the youkai moved his mouth to her neck, working from her shoulder up to her jawline.

"This Sesshomaru is patient," he whispered into her ear. He could feel her shiver at his touch and felt the heat rise in his own body. He trailed his hands over her robe, feeling her curves. "You wished to bathe."

Kagome gasped when he moved away, her back feeling cold. A glance back showed the youkai gathering his clothing and preparing to dress. She snapped her eyes back to the door, already feeling dizzy. Again the chuckle drifted to her ears. "What's so funny?"

"You have never seen a male before?"

'He just loves to see me blush.' "Not in person, no. I am no hentai, staring at men"

"Another time, then."

Sesshomaru went out of the hot springs, leaving Kagome alone with her thoughts.


	8. Thoughts

A/N: Sorry this one is a little short, way too much homework! Thank you for the reviews, everyone! Well, sheenachi, he is a bit of a hentai. I figure he's a male in his prime, so he is going to have a bit of -ahem- extra energy. I try to keep these critters in character, but sometimes they just insist on disobeying me. I don't think he is too far off, though. I think I am going to tighten up the leash again after this chapter, though. Enough free time for Fluffy. Maybe if I owned any of them they would behave, but I don't. I'm still coping.

'Ah, hot, relaxing hot spring. Relax. Deep breaths. Oh, who am I kidding?'

Kagome's eyes flew back open as she groaned. 'Sure, I could have relaxed, but that damn arrogant bastard had to ruin my soak! What's the big idea, anyways? Why on Earth had he decided that he wanted to talk while he was naked! And who knew those stripes made it all the way down his body . . .'

Water splashed as Kagome smacked the water, trying to get her attention back on the matter at hand. 'Who cares where his stripes go? What is he trying to do? Oh, wait, I know what he's trying to do.'

_A mouth descending onto her neck, working from her shoulder up to her jawline, kissing her fiercely and nipping just below her ear. Hot breath at her ear, "This Sesshomaru is patient."_

Even in the steaming hot water Kagome shivered. 'This is insane. I _do not_ love him. I would really like to knock him flat! Why do I want this?'

A small voice whispered to her, 'It's called lust, Jo-chan.'

'Lust is for hentai like Miroku, not me. I am not going to start chasing men around asking if I can have their children! And you can just be quiet!'

Kagome ducked under the water, soaking her hair so that she could wash it. 'And why didn't I just tell him to stop it? He said he would not do anything to an unwilling female, what was I thinking! Baka, Kagome, now he's going to really be after you!'

'And? You don't want him to?'

'I told you to be quiet!' Kagome was scrubbing her hair so hard she was afraid she would go bald. 'I'm not that kind of girl! I do not do things like that! Not that I've ever had a shot. I waited and waited for Inuyasha, but I never got a chance.'

Dunking back under the water kept her from having to follow that thought for a few minutes.

'Is that what this is all about? Curiosity? Am I so eager to try this 'stuff' out that I'm willing to do it with someone I don't even like much?'

'But you saw him! Wow!'

'Last warning! I'm not going to listen to you! I don't care how great he looked in that towel, or that he has those cool stripes running across his stomach, and that one that disappeared under the towel.' Kagome's hands went to her face. 'Even by myself I'm blushing! I wish Sango was here.'

Shoulders sagged as Kagome thought of her best friend. 'She would know what to say to me to snap me out of this. I'm so lonely! I wonder if she's okay. She probably thinks I went home to stay this time. My note said I was going home, and that Inuyasha was gone. They won't even be looking for me. I wonder if Sesshomaru would let me try to get a message to them. Am I a prisoner?'

"Huh. Good question." Kagome heard her voice echoing off of the walls and realized she really did need someone to talk to. 'Boy trouble is when a girl needs her friends the most, and Sesshomaru has definitely been upgraded to boy trouble!'

'Okay, I'm on my own for this one. What's the plan?' Kagome pulled her feet up out of the water and studied her toes. 'Huh, not helping me think. Focus, Kagome! What do I want? Not him, not Rin, just me?'

'I want him.'

'Damn. Not the answer I wanted to hear. Could I do it? Could I do stuff like, that, with someone I don't even like much? It feels like I would be making a deal with the devil.'

More water splashed as Kagome launched herself out of the spring. 'I tried the whole love thing, it wasn't all that great. Let's try this one. What have I got to lose? No one is going to tell me no, no one here is even going to care. I won't be hurting anybody. Besides, like he said, I'm not 'unwilling'.'

'Then why do I feel like there should be something more?'

The robe was on and she was in the hall before she had an answer to that one.

'Because that's what I want. I want the whole thing, love, romance, everything. But I'm getting too old for fairy tales. Sesshomaru is no Prince Charming, there's no romance or love there. My happy ending walked away, remember?' Kagome wiped a tear off of her cheek. 'I will _not_ cry!'

----

'I am a cowardly idiot.'

Takanou was looking up at the moon, sitting in the alcove where he had found Kagome those weeks ago. That was the first time he had blindly obeyed Sesshomaru and abandoned the ningen. He had cowered when Sesshomaru told him that he was not to touch her or befriend her. And even today he had stood to the side when Sesshomaru had snatched her off the ground and threatened her.

'And now he will court her. She has no idea what is going to happen, she has no friends, and Sesshomaru will care not for her feelings. He only wants to break her. No allies, no companions other then a little girl, she is completely on her own. And you dare to call yourself her friend. What kind of a friend will stand by and let that bastard hurt her? You know he will.'

A groan escaped the healer as he remembered her injuries from the first encounter. The second encounter had not been any less violent, and today's encounter held the threat for more than physical violence. 'He will break her spirit, then become bored and throw her away. She will be a shell of what she was.'

'And will I stand by and just let this happen?'

'I cannot challenge Sesshomaru. He is a great warrior, a youkai lord, while I am a healer. While I come from a family of great warriors I cannot face him. He would kill me.'

Takanou climbed to his hooves, staring up at the moon and stars. 'How can I save her? Do I dare talk to her, tell her how I feel? Maybe if she feels as though she has a friend she will be able to refuse him. He would not force himself on a female, I do not think. But a lonely female, she would have a hard time refusing one such as him.'

'Yes, I should talk to her. It will be difficult, Sesshomaru watches her every move, but there must be a way. Maybe I could help her to escape! She is a prisoner here, brought here against her will. She would be very grateful if I was able to help her escape. Perhaps it would be enough to make up for my cowardice.'

Feeling stronger with a plan in mind, Takanou returned to his rooms in the palace. 'Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will find a way to let Kagome know of my feelings.'

----

Lying back on his bed, Sesshomaru remembered his encounter with the miko despite his best attempts to put her from his mind.

'An innocent. I would have never suspected. She had seemed naïve, but I thought it was an act. It seems that she and that hanyou never had a relationship. I am surprised, after all of the time spent together and his concern for her. Stupid hanyou..'

Sesshomaru paused, a new thought occurring to him. 'I have never been with an innocent. All of my partners have been well educated, skilled even. This will need to be approached differently. She is very nervous about being near me, much less touching me.'

A groan escaped the youkai as he remembered his own words. 'But am I that patient?'

'I mean the ningen no harm. I want this obsession to end, but it will not stop on its own. This will be a greater test of self control then avoiding her entirely. Is this how humans court? Slowly and carefully? With all of those emotions being involved? It must not be, or there would not be so many of them! At the pace that this female would set she would die of old age without offspring.'

Unwilling to stay away, thoughts wandered back to the conversation held that night. 'She tastes like honey with spice. She may have been uncertain, but she smelled of arousal. Her body is very willing, even if her mind will need convincing. Perhaps the body will help the mind to follow through on these urges. After this obsession is dealt with I will be able to ignore her again. Soon, soon all will be as it should.'

New images were filtering into Sesshomaru's mind as he drifted into sleep.

_Kagome was dressed in a simple robe, walking into her room. She stretched, the moonlight illuminating her figure as she made her way to the bed. Unaware that she was being watched, Kagome gazed out the window, staring at the moon and stars. Her slightly damp hair swung down her back, shining in the moonlight. A slight breeze made her robe billow about her and showed some of her leg, attracting her observer's eye._

_Sleepy, the young woman returned to her bed, sliding across the top of the blankets. She stretched out on her back with her eyes closed. A hint of a smile appeared on her face, a memory bringing her enjoyment. A new pair of hands were running up her body, and she welcomed them. His mouth descended onto hers, stroking her tongue with his. _

_He lowered his body over hers, pressing against her._

"Sesshomaru-sama, where is the cat? Rin cannot find the cat. Maybe it has the toy already."

Sesshomaru jerked awake at the sound of the innocent voice at his door. The door was closed, and Rin was moving down the hall. 'Sleepwalking again.' He stifled a groan. 'It will be most difficult to go to sleep now. That miko has cost me more sleep than any other threat I have ever encountered. I will not have another female following me about, an open invitation to my enemies. The sooner she is removed from my thoughts and presence the better.'

The darker, bestial part of his personality was not buying it. He wanted that female, and the excuses were amusing to the beast that slumbered in the back of his mind.

----

"Do you think she will come back, Miroku?"

"I do not know, Sango-sama. She was very upset about Inuyasha, I am sure."

Sango was pacing around the cottage where she and Miroku had been staying while they recovered. "Maybe we could check on her."

"We cannot go through the well, you know that." Miroku put his arm across her shoulders. "I would not worry about Kagome-sama. She needs some time alone, to think things through. I am sure she will come back to see us when she is ready."

"Maybe she talked to Kaedae. If we went to see her, maybe we could find out what her plans were!"

Miroku knew when to back down. "Yes, she might at that. Are you strong enough for that journey?"

"Of course, we'll leave tomorrow."

"Ah, then we have the night together, my lovely."

A familiar hand was on Sango's bottom. "Hentai!" The smack could be heard three cottages down as Miroku was reminded of his manners.


	9. Anything Is Possible

A/N: I'll let you guys in on the secret of the quick updates. The story is already written, I'm just editing each day so that the chapters are in good shape. So the good news is that you will get to see this to the end. -grin- Yeah, yeah, Fluffy's a bit of a hentai in the last two, but he does settle back down. He's not as bad as Mirokou. You know, I can't even tell if it is in or out of character, since most of it is in his head and you never see him really interested in anyone (don't know if Kagura counted). I own about the same amount of stuff I've owned through this whole dang thing (wow, it's getting long!).

"Kagome-chan, what is wrong with your hair?"

An evil glare was on Kagome's face as Kumo struggled with the mess. Kumo was mumbling under her breath, and none of it was flattering. "I fell asleep with my hair wet."

"Wow, Kagome-chan!" Rin was watching with fascination as the mess was being tamed. "It looks like you haven't brushed it in a week!"

"Thanks, Rin."

Rin was oblivious to the sarcasm. Already dressed and groomed, Rin was impatient to go down to breakfast. "Kagome-chan, Rin will be late!"

Sigh. "Go ahead down, Jo-chan, and let Sesshomarou-sama know that I will be down as soon as possible. That's all you need to say, that I will be down as soon as possible."

"Hai, Kagome-chan!" Rin was already out the door and running down the hall, holding the hilt of her sword so that it did not bang against her legs.

"My lady, this is a disaster. This could take me most of the morning!" Distress was evident in the servant's voice.

"Don't worry, Kumo, we don't need it perfect, just close enough to get it into a ponytail. I'm just going to practice, after all."

'Now, when I was young, a lady that had just started courting a lord would be very worried about her appearance. What are the youngsters today thinking? I know that she and Sesshomarou-sama were talking in the hot springs, the attendant told me this morning. Why is she not acting like she cares?' Kumo was mystified yet again by her charge. 'Maybe it is a human thing.'

"Ah, close enough Kumo. I can get it into a ponytail, it doesn't look that bad. I'll clean up after practice and let you work on my hair all you want. Now I need to get breakfast. I can only imagine what Rin is telling Sesshomarou-sama about why I'm late." Without even glancing in a mirror Kagome hurried from the room. Kumo stared after her.

'What am I going to do with her?'

----

When only Rin appeared Sesshomarou had a moment of concern. Had he upset the miko? Would she refuse to see him now?

"Sesshomarou-sama, Kagome-chan will be down as soon as possible. That's all Rin has to say, that she will be done as soon as possible."

"Rin, where is Kagome."

"She is upstairs with Kumo doing her hair. It is so big, Kumo is worried that it will never lay down again. Rin thought it was very funny, but Kagome-chan seemed grumpy about it. Rin has never seen Kagome-chan's hair look like that before, but sometimes Rin's hair looks like that. But Kagome-chan has more hair than Rin, so . . ."

"Rin!"

Rin looked up from her breakfast. "Kagome-chan! Your hair looks better!"

'I haven't even made it to breakfast and I'm blushing already.' "Rin, you didn't need to tell Sesshomarou-sama all of that, just that I was on my way!" Refusing to even glance towards Sesshomarou, Kagome took her seat next to Rin.

"Sesshomarou-sama wanted to know where you were. Rin did not mean to make Kagome-chan mad." Tears were starting to appear in the little girl's eyes.

"Oh, Rin, Kagome-chan isn't mad at you." Kagome scooped the girl up and gave her a hug. "There are just some things you don't tell everybody."

Kagome returned Rin to her spot so she could work on her breakfast. Incident forgotten, Rin returned to packing food into her mouth as quickly as possible. Sesshomarou was pointedly ignored in the hopes that he would not ask any questions about Kagome's hair or tardiness.

The youkai lord was sorely pressed to not harass Kagome further. He could see that her hair was still not as sleek as usual and that there were dark circles under her eyes. Had she slept at all? "Kagome, did you sleep well?"

The object of his attentions choked on her breakfast. 'Did he just ask me how I slept?' Covering her mouth and desperately trying to catch her breath, her mind spun on. 'What the hell? I've never heard him ask about anybody, other than asking if someone was dead yet.'

"Um, hai, my lord. It was a late night, but I did sleep well." 'I hope that sounded normal enough.' Kagome finally looked up at the youkai, an uncertain smile on her face.

Sesshomarou's face gave nothing away, but his eyes seemed . . . warmer somehow. It was almost as though her really did care whether or not she had slept well. When had she seen that expression before? 'When he listens to Rin! Whoa, does he actually care? Just a little bit?'

Breakfast suddenly seemed like a safer place to focus. Rin was already done and was running from the room, calling over her shoulder, "Hurry, Kagome-chan!"

Now Kagome could not resist a real smile, watching the impulsive girl skitter around the corner. "I think that she needs to learn just a bit of self-control. What do you think, my lord?" 'Hmm, that sounded down right friendly. Maybe all of those knocks to the head are starting to catch up with me.'

"Hai. Perhaps her weapon lessons will teach her some control." Sesshomarou was equally startled by the polite conversation, but did not want to disturb it.

Giggles erupted from Kagome. "Obviously you have not been watching her. She is just as impulsive against a pell as she is in everything else. She does enjoy herself, though, and her yells would make anyone, youkai or ningen, think twice."

'Yes, he is definitely smiling. Wow. And I'm staring. Baka, Kagome!' Again she refocused to her breakfast.

"Perhaps she needs some work against an opponent to get her attention." 'Was she staring at me?'

"Oh, no, my lord, I am not facing that fury! Even with just her wooden practice blade she is pretty fierce. I don't think Takanou is too eager to face her either."

"Then this Sesshomarou will be her first opponent. If Takanou is too frightened to face a small girl then she will need some additional instruction." Rising from his place, he glanced at Kagome. "Are you finished?"

"Hai, my lord." 'He is coming to practice? That cannot be good. Maybe with Rin around he won't beat up on me too much.'

It was awkward, walking with the youkai to the courtyard. Kagome had no idea what to say, while Sesshomarou did not give the slightest clue to his mood or motives. After such a polite conversation she was more relaxed, though. It was nice to think that he could talk to her without either of them throwing down a challenge or an insult. 'Wow, a whole conversation without either of us trying to cause physical harm. That is definitely a first!'

Rin's voice was already raised with excitement. Entering the courtyard Kagome could see her pummeling the pell yet again. Not much in the way of technique or finesse, but there was a lot of enthusiasm and she would get stronger. Takanou was trying to get the girl's attention, but to little effect.

"Rin, you need to stop hitting with the flat of the blade, it doesn't do any good."

"Hee yah!" was Rin's response as she continued to wail on the defenseless pell. "Take that, evil wolf youkai!"

"Rin."

That quiet command was enough to bring the girl to a halt. "Hai, Sesshomarou-sama?"

"If you would like to defeat a real wolf youkai then you need to learn more than how to yell and hit with a stick. Come here." Sesshomarou brought the girl over to the side. "This is how one grips a sword. Both hands like this. Here, this Sesshomarou will show you."

Kagome could not help but smile and watch. Sesshomarou was standing behind Rin, showing her how to hold her weapon and how to stand. Rin was silent and focused, listening to every word that her Sesshomarou said.

"I am thankful that he is going to talk to the girl, she is very difficult to teach!" Takanou had come up beside Kagome and was watching the pair. He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Are you well, Kagome-sama?"

Surprise showed in the miko's eyes. "Hai," she whispered back. "Why?"

"I was, concerned. I do not want you to think you are alone here. I will help you in any way that you wish."

"Thank you, Takanou. I think that things are going to be just fine. It's a matter of sorting out a new partnership." Kagome's eyes were back on the duo, watching as Rin learned what a block and a parry were. "I think that we both have some adjusting to do."

"Kagome-sama, do not forget, you are here against your will."

"Am I, Takanou?" Kagome moved to pick up her staff. Raising her voice to normal, she called to her teacher. "Shall we get some work done, since Sesshomarou-sama has Rin distracted?"

Mute, Takanou nodded. 'What had that meant? Was she a prisoner or not?'

----

'I am such a pushover.' Kagome fussed with her sleeves, then forced her hands back to her sides. Kumo had still been distressed that afternoon, so Kagome had let the servant dress her for dinner. Now the miko was dressed in a beautiful kimono with luscious layers of silk. And long drop sleeves. Dinner had been an ordeal, much to Sesshomarou's amusement.

'Damn arrogant bastard.'

Rin and Sesshomarou were already out for their walk, and Kagome was bored in her room. Her journal had already heard enough about her problems. The evening was beautiful, begging her to go outside for something more than training. 'Like I could train dressed like this. That's it, I'm tired of moping around. I'm going for a walk! Even if I can barely move.'

In the gardens Kagome wandered from path to path. This was the first time she had been able to actually explore the gardens on her own. When she was out with Rin she was constantly chasing the girl and did not get a chance to look at anything. Now she could move at a leisurely pace, admiring the flowers and landscaping. The gardens were massive, it felt as though she could wander for days and still not see the same place twice. She stopped to smell flowers that she had never seen before. 'Now I'm starting to relax, finally.'

----

Kagome's scent had already drifted to the youkai through the gardens. Rin was skipping down the path, looking for another flower for her bouquet. Sesshomarou looked around, trying to sight the female that he had already found by scent. 'There she is, just over the bridge.' Keeping a casual air he started to move towards her. 'She looks so different dressed like a lady. One would almost miss the warrior there. This is the most relaxed I have seen her since she got here. Is it because she does not know I am here?' Seeing her made the youkai lord relax as well, as though he had found something he had been searching for.

The miko had noticed him. Her expression was uncertain, with a glance cast behind her shoulder. "Sesshomarou-sama, I thought you were out walking with Rin."

"Rin is just on the other side of the bridge."

"Oh. Um, I can head back to the palace, so I don't disturb you two."

"This Sesshomarou would enjoy your company as well as Rin's."

Her eyes widened at the lord's words. "Really? If you're sure, I can walk with you two. I just love these gardens, they are amazing."

"They were my mother's." Sesshomarou's eyes were on the bundle of energy racing towards them, his face a mask.

'I've never heard him mention her before. I don't think he wants any questions, though. Easy, Rin!'

Rin had grabbed Kagome around the legs. "Yea! Kagome-chan can walk with Rin and Sesshomarou-sama! Now Rin will need more flowers!" Without a backwards glance Rin was running down the path, looking for the perfect flowers.

"Sesshomarou-sama, I think we had better follow her."

"Hai."

The couple walked through the garden in silence. Kagome was still admiring the gardens, while Sesshomarou was admiring her. She stopped to admire a beautiful, tiny lily. It was gold in color with white along the edges. 'A perfect compliment to her red and gold kimono.' Kagome was startled when Sesshomarou picked the lily and set it into her hair. He said nothing, his face in it's usual mask, then turned and followed Rin's voice.

'Okay, I'm just getting weirded out now. Who was that, and why did they look like Sesshomarou?'

'What was that?' Even Sesshomarou was confused by his behavior. 'What, exactly, was the point in that?'

The rest of the walk was in silence, watching Rin as she ran and played. The fireflies were coming out, lighting the paths and making the gardens feel like a place out of a fairy tail. When the little group returned to the palace there was a relaxed feeling that was new to both of the adults. Rin was oblivious, far more interested in her new flowers that would need to be put in water.

"Um, good night, Sesshomarou-sama." Kagome took Rin's hand and disappeared into the palace.

----

Alone in the dark of her room Kagome stared out the window. Rin was sleeping, Kumo had come and gone. The miko was dressed in a robe, her damp hair carefully brushed and braided. The lily that Sesshomarou had put in her hair was now in her hands. She studied it, thinking back on the night. 'That was almost . . . romantic. I would have never, ever thought that he could do something like that. Maybe, maybe this could work. No, he won't love me, but he may care. Care is better than nothing. I would like to think that he cared. This may work. After all, that was a whole day without violence or threats. Anything is possible.'

The moonlight was shining on her bed, calling her to sleep. 'I feel more relaxed now. Maybe I'll be able to get a good night's sleep. That would be wonderful.'

As Kagome slid her hands under her pillow, already half asleep, her hands touched paper. 'Hmm?' Curiosity overruled sleep and she pulled out the paper. The moon offered enough light to let her see what it was. 'A note? From Takanou?'

A/N: I figured I would try this whole cliff hanger thing out. -evil laughter- It's just a little one . . .


	10. Choices Made, Lessons Learned

A/N: Well, shadow of the black abyss, here's your answer. Tamia, I can only imagine. Poor Kagome. Anyways, it occurred to me tonight, that I do own something! Kumo and Takanou are mine! Not that I want Takanou, that weenie, but they are still mine. The rest, however, belong to the genius that created them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'A note? From Takanou?'

_Kagome-sama,_

_I know that Sesshomaru is watching your every move, so I will be brief. I am terrified of what will become of you if you stay here. He will not be content until he has crushed your spirit and destroyed your defenses. He cannot let anyone be defiant and threaten his dominance. I can help you to escape. Do not think that you have no choice, I can return you to your friends. I feel for you as I have not felt for anyone in a long time. If you wish for my assistance come to the gardens tomorrow night after he is asleep._

_Your Servant,_

_Takanou_

'What!' Kagome's mouth was hanging open. 'He is so concerned about me that he wants to get me away from here? What does he know? What is going to happen to me?'

Terrifying images of abuse and imprisonment were playing out behind her eyes. 'Is that his true intentions? It that all he wants, to break me? Am I a prisoner? Is this still a sick game to hurt me?'

Kagome was up and pacing around the room. 'There is so much about this courting thing that I don't understand! Was I wrong today, is he simply looking to crush me? How many times has he tried to kill me in the past?'

Claustrophobia gripped Kagome. 'No! I won't let him! I have to get out!' Rushing to her closet she started to pull her belongings from the shelves. 'Where is my uniform? Uhg, all the way up there?' Climbing up the shelves, Kagome strained to reach the neatly folded clothes that were just barely out of her reach.

The cracking sound made her freeze. 'Uh oh.' Kagome shrieked as the shelves collapsed, spilling her and most of her belongings onto the floor. 'Oh, my head.'

"Miko."

Kagome whipped around to see Sesshomaru standing over her. His usually immaculate hair was mussed and he was not wearing a shirt. What he was wearing was a very annoyed look.

"What's the big idea, coming in here without knocking?"

One eyebrow went up. "This Sesshomaru _was_ asleep, then he heard a crash and your screaming."

"Oh, sorry." Kagome was surprised that she felt bad for waking the youkai.

"What are you doing."

'I probably look pretty guilty right now. What will I tell him? The truth? It's so crazy it just might work.'

"Can I send a message to one of my friends?"

Blink. "This is because you wish to send a message?"

"Well, yes . . ."

"In the morning you can send whatever message you wish. Is that all?"

"Yes. Well, no. Kind of . . ."

"It is late." Even Kagome could see the annoyance on Sesshomaru's face as he glared down at her.

"Am I your prisoner? Can I leave?"

Blink. Sesshomaru had not been expecting this line of questioning. "You may leave if you wish. Do you believe you are a prisoner?"

Kagome sighed. "I didn't know. I was unconscious when I came here, remember?"

"You cannot be comfortable on the floor."

The wreckage of her closet was still tangled around Kagome's legs. She worked her way loose and stood up. There was an awkward silence as Kagome shoved her belongings back into her closet and shut the door. Sesshomaru was the first to speak again.

"Were you going to run?"

"Hai." The reply was such a soft whisper that the youkai could hardly hear it.

"Why? Has this Sesshomaru made you believe that you were a prisoner?"

"No, I just assumed that I was."

Sesshomaru moved to the bed and sat down. "Miko, if you were a prisoner you would know it."

"Hey, the name is Kagome." The miko marched right up to him, hands on her hips.

"This Sesshomaru is not awake enough to recall the miko's name."

All Kagome could do was stare. "Was that a joke? Did you just tell a joke?"

Amber eyes met hers. "This Sesshomaru does not have a sense of humor. That is well known."

"Oh, no, you are definitely making fun of me. When did you get a sense of humor?"

"The sense of humor is unchanged, you are just finally aware of it, miko."

"Youkai."

"Wench."

"Bastard."

Kagome was smiling, looking into those gorgeous eyes. Carefully, she reached up and brushed his hair away from his eyes Sesshomaru caught her hand, holding it still. His other arm moved around her waist, growling. "Defiant." He pulled her against his chest.

The miko growled back. "Arrogant." His lips looked so soft. She wanted to feel them again. Hesitantly, she lowered her head, brushing her lips against his. Like she had sprung a trap Sesshomaru seized her mouth, pushing her mouth open to run his tongue along the interior.

Kagome moaned, pressing her body harder against his. The youkai's hands were moving up and down her back, feeling her through the thin fabric of her robe. He could feel her hands against his bare skin, tracing imaginary patterns as he kissed her. Lips were trailing down to her neck, leaving a trail of kisses and hot breath as he made his way to her collar bone. The occasional brush of a fang made her shake, her hands buried in his hair and her head falling back.

Breathing was becoming more difficult as Sesshomaru inhaled her scent. His hands were sliding across her robe, running a finger across the sash that was the only thing between him and her. Realizing where his hands were Kagome startled, a hint of tension running through her body.

'Baka, you move too fast.' Sesshomaru returned his attention to her lips, his hands sliding back to rest at her waist and in her hair. The tension was soon a forgotten memory as Kagome savored the kiss, feeling the silk of his hair running through her fingers. The kiss was broken by Sesshomaru, allowing both to inhale for the first time in what seemed like days.

"Kagome, we must stop now, or it may become impossible." He brought his forehead to rest on hers, closing his eyes and forcing his body to obey.

"Hai, Sesshomaru." Kagome was panting, her body felt hot and tight. She did not want him to stop, but she understood. She was still nervous and he could tell. Her hand trailed up to the side of his face, touching one of his stripes with a gentle finger. The youkai turned his head and kissed her hand.

"You need to sleep."

"And having you here does not lead to sleep."

"No, it will not. This Sesshomaru will return to his room." Sesshomaru climbed to his feet, admiring the lovely picture she made in the moonlight.

"Good night, Sesshomaru. And thank you. For everything."

The great youkai nodded, then returned to his own room.

'Takanou, I think you may be wrong.' Kagome drifted to sleep, feeling safer than she had in a long time.

----

It was difficult for Takanou to face the miko the next morning at practice. Sesshomaru had again taken Rin away, leaving the instructor alone with his student. The miko was acting as though nothing had happened. 'Did she even find the note? Did Sesshomaru intercept it? Of course not, if he had I would already be dead.'

Kagome smiled at her instructor, waiting for him to make the first attack. She had already dispatched a message to Kaedae and was feeling much better. Takanou may be worried, but Kagome was certain that she was not in danger from Sesshomaru. "Takanou, are you worried that I will try to brain you again? You seem hesitant to attack."

The healer shook himself slightly. "I was thinking too hard, Kagome-sama. I will need to concentrate or you will have an advantage over me. I do not need anymore burns."

The healer was still not focusing on the fight and quickly found himself disarmed. "Instructor, I do not think you are paying attention."

"Student, you should practice on your own. I have things that I need to attend to." Takanou set off across the courtyard, leaving his student perplexed and rather disappointed in the courtyard.

'How am I going to learn to stand up to Sesshomaru without help?'

"Where has Takanou gone?" Sesshomaru looked up from watching Rin running through her drills. The miko was standing alone, looking a little lost.

"He had other matters that needed his attention, my lord." Kagome could not keep her disappointment out of her voice.

"After this Sesshomaru has observed Rin he will assist you."

'Gulp. Not what I wanted. Not at all. Takanou, how could you ditch me like this?' Kagome nervously spun her staff, trying to concentrate enough to practice on her own. 'I do not want to face him again, not yet! I'm not ready, and I do not want to be snatched around again. Knock it off, Kagome, get a grip! Practice, then, and think of a strategy! Surprise the damn arrogant bastard. I may need to get a new nickname for him, that is quite a long one. No! Focus! Go through your warm up again.'

The warm up helped Kagome to refocus. Working her way through some of the drills she had learned also helped her to strategize. 'Okay, he's bigger, faster, stronger, and a youkai. So what? I can do stuff he can't. I can . . . scream really loud! Oh, Kami. No, I'm a miko, he's a youkai, I can do this. I just need a plan.'

Sesshomaru could see the aura forming around the miko as she worked, bringing her powers into her practice. The edges were snapping with energy as she concentrated on her drills. 'This could be painful. She does not look like she is going to pull the blows much.' Rin was done with her drills and was now facing the youkai, practice blade at the ready. She seemed a little hesitant to strike at her Sesshomaru, but she was eager to finally practice with somebody.

"Rin. Do not simply swing and hack. Think about what you have learned. We will be going at half speed so you can see how you should respond." Sesshomaru raised his own practice blade, squaring off with his ward. "Begin."

Fortunately for Sesshomaru, Rin had listened to every word he had said. She did not scream and charge, but instead moved forward and engaged him carefully. She did not hack at him, but looked for openings and ways to get through his defenses. Her careful movements were a great contrast to her out of control performance with Takanou. The youkai found it enjoyable to teach his ward something that he enjoyed as well. She may be just a human, but the demon slayers such as Sango were just human as well. Careful, thorough training could make his ward into a fighter that could defend herself even when faced with a youkai. The lord could feel pride as Rin saw the opening he had left for her and closed with him, sliding through his defenses for a kill.

"Correct. Again."

Rin glowed under his praise. She backed up to repeat the exercise, again with as much care as a young girl could manage. Wise beyond her years, she knew that Sesshomaru had left that opening for her to find. That did nothing to lessen her pride at having found it.

After sparring with Rin for several more bouts Sesshomaru dismissed her, instructing her to go for a walk in the gardens so she would not become stiff. After his ward had disappeared he faced the miko. Kagome noticed his gaze and straightened, letting her powers fade. 'Oh, Kami, lets try to keep this civil.' "Sesshomaru-sama."

"This Sesshomaru has been watching your practices. You have been practicing with your miko powers."

'Was that a question? Didn't sound like one, but they usually don't. Better answer, just in case.' "Hai, my lord."

"This Sesshomaru will be very interested to see what you have learned." Still carrying the wooden practice blade he faced her, bringing the blade up to a guard position.

'Do Not Panic! Concentrate, girl, what can you use against him?' Kagome squared off with the youkai, her aura snapping. "I will be more than happy to show you what I've learned, my lord."

The quiet challenge in her voice caused Sesshomaru to growl. He moved towards the miko, carefully circling her. He did not want to be burned. This time he had a weapon of his own, though, so he was hopeful that he could end this without a burn. A quick lunge, snapping his sword down with the plan to disarm her.

The sword stopped cold, blocked by the barrier that Kagome had thrown up around herself.

'How the hell? I don't know how I'm doing it, but I'm not going to ask any questions!' Kagome lunged at the youkai, forcing him back. The barrier moved with her, but it blocked the youkai.

'How the hell? When did she learn this trick?' Sesshomaru scrambled back. 'She will not be able to hold that for long, but in the mean time she has the advantage. The best plan is to wear her down.'

Kagome moved after him, trying to get close enough to land a blow. She could feel herself tiring already. She knew that the youkai was waiting for her to exhaust herself. 'All right then, I'll play along.' Kagome sagged against her staff and let the barrier fall. 'Here, puppy, puppy. Come and get the nice bait.'

'The barrier must have drawn considerable power from her, she is already weakening. I can try to disarm her now.' Sesshomaru moved back in to close again, trying to make sure he did not accidentally hurt her. But Kagome had her own ideas. As he closed her aura flared. Her staff lashed out, intercepting him and knocking him to his back. Kagome stood over him, staff at the ready. "Do you yield?"

"You know that this Sesshomaru will not yield." A loud growl was coming from the inu-youkai, who was still armed. He swung his blade, eyes glazing over with red, knocking her staff away from him and leaping to his feet. Before the miko could recover he was closing with her, trying to get that staff away. A sharp blow to the staff temporarily numbed her hands, allowing him to knock her weapon away. Kagome glared, hands glowing. "You know that I won't yield either."

'Defiant wench.' The growl was still rumbling in his chest as he circled with the miko again. Using his speed he went behind her, using his blade to knock her down without touching her. Kagome had expected this and twisted as she fell, looking to grab onto the youkai. Sesshomaru flinched back as her hands brushed his clothes. Now the miko was on the ground, but Sesshomaru did not want to get any closer. He could not force a yield from her until she was too tired to use her powers anymore.

'This is ridiculous, why can't we just spar? Why does it have to turn into this?'

"Sesshomaru-sama, we are just sparing, right?"

The youkai's eyes slowly lightened to amber. "Hai, miko. Sparing only."

"Then why don't we just stop now? You can show me where I made my mistakes and you can ask me the questions I saw in your eyes earlier." It was a long shot, but it was worth a try. She did not feel like burning him or getting knocked around.

Slowly Sesshomaru lowered his blade. "This Sesshomaru will teach you." He stretched a hand out to the miko, pulling her to her feet. "It is difficult to spar with a female such as yourself. The refusal to yield can cause things to go too far."

'Huh, that sounded almost apologetic. I suppose this means I have to play nice.' "It's hard for me, too. I know that you are faster and stronger, I don't like going into a fight I know I will lose. It makes me do some pretty drastic things."

"The burns. They do take a long time to heal."

Kagome winced. "I didn't now that. Sorry. I'll be more careful. I guess we shouldn't practice together right now. We just make it worse for each other."

"This Sesshomaru can control his actions." The youkai gestured for Kagome to sit beside him on a bench. "These are the errors that you made, and how to fix them for your next attempt."

'No, Takanou was wrong. He will not hurt me. He does not love me, but he will not hurt me. I need to tell Takanou that it is fine, to stop worrying. I don't want him to be waiting up all night in the garden for me. I don't want to leave right now, I feel like I have a lot that I can learn here.'

"Miko. Kagome, stand so this Sesshomaru can show you how to avoid having your staff knocked away as he did in this practice."

----

Rin watched from the courtyard entrance as her Sesshomaru-sama showed her Kagome-chan how she should respond to his attempts to disarm her. A smile spread over her face as she saw Sesshomaru carefully working through the movements, watching the miko closely. 'He likes her! He really likes her! Does that mean she will stay? Will she be his new lady? Rin hopes so.'


	11. A Threat

A/N: It's a twofer! I love the weekend. Yeah, Takanou's going just a hair nutty. Tough choices for him, grow a backbone, get a whooping, pick up a girlfriend, cower in the corner. . . I guess it's a good thing I don't own any of the characters except Takanou and Kumo, considering how much I enjoy messing with Takanou. -Kumo cowers in the corner-

The moon was high when Kagome slipped out of her room. She was pretty sure that Sesshomaru was asleep, he wasn't moving around in his room anymore and had not come out to stop her. As long as he didn't notice her going out it didn't matter if he was actually asleep or not. Moving as quietly as possible, she snuck out into the gardens. 'I just need to let Takanou know not to worry. I'll be back in my room before anyone knows I was gone. Why do I have a bad feeling about this?'

In an alcove she found the healer staring up at the moon. He made a beautiful picture with his hair tinted silver in the moonlight. Hearing her approach the healer turned to face her. "Kagome, I had almost given up hope that you would come."

"Takanou, this is not what you think. I don't want to leave."

Dark eyes bored into hers, looking for something. "Did he discover your note? Has he forced you to come here?"

True surprise flickered in Kagome's eyes. "No! I came here to tell you that I'm fine. I'm not a prisoner, I sent a message out to my friends just today. He may be cruel, but he does not seem to mean me any harm."

"Are you truly that naïve, miko? Do you truly believe that a youkai like him could mean you no harm? You are a miko, a threat. He will destroy you."

"No, I'm not a threat to him. I know he could kill me . . ."

"He will not settle for just killing you." Takanou was closing with her, glaring. "He will destroy you. He will make you think that you love him, that he cares for you, then he will betray you. You are strong, beautiful, kind. You are everything that he hates. You are a ningen, and he hates any of that race."

"No, your wrong." Kagome was shaking, unsure now. "I can't believe that. He cares for Rin."

"Like a pet that is amusing. When she is no longer amusing he will toss her aside." Takanou reached out to put his hands on Kagome's arms. "I would not wish that for you. You need to leave, now. Before he can harm you further."

Kagome shivered, feeling like she was being torn in two. 'Who is right? If Takanou is right I am in danger, but if Rin is right I will be throwing away a new life that I just might like. How could I know?'

----

'Perhaps the miko has the same problem as Rin. Why else would she be wandering about at this hour?' Sesshomaru had awoken and noticed that he could not smell the miko in the next room. Curious he moved out into the hall, easily following her path as she moved through the palace and out to the gardens. 'Hopefully she has not fallen into the koi pond.'

Voices were drifting through the garden. One was angry, and one was sad and afraid. He recognized both. He moved closer, shamelessly listening to the conversation.

"_I would not wish that for you. You need to leave, now. Before he can harm you further."_

'Damn that healer. I will rip him apart!'

Kagome's voice drifted to him. He could hear her uncertainty, her sadness. He paused to listen to her response. "No, Takanou. I must talk to him. He has done nothing to me since I got here but take care of me!"

"You forget, miko, that he slammed you into a wall and threatened your life."

"But he did not mean to hurt me. I truly believe he didn't know that I would be hurt!"

'Arigato, Kagome.' Sesshomaru could not say it to the miko, but he did feel gratitude for her faith in him. He heard a gasp from Kagome, a spike of fear. Takanou voice had dropped down into a growl.

"I have risked much to try and get you away from here, and you will do nothing put defend your attacker? Think, miko! What has he done that you think he could ever care for you? Is he even capable of caring for you?"

"He came to check on me, when I woke up from my nightmare. He could have left me crying in my room, but he checked on me. He even tried to comfort me, a little."

"Baka ningen. I should throw you over my shoulder and haul you away. You would thank me later." Threat was dripping from his words.

'What happened to the gentle healer?' "Takanou, what happened to you? Why are you acting this way?" Sesshomaru could hear Kagome moving away from the sound of Takanou's voice.

"I will not cower and grovel anymore. You are leaving, and you are leaving with me. You are blind to the danger, but you will be most grateful to me later."

The inu-youkai's hand had drifted to the hilt of Tokijin, eyes starting to glaze over with red. 'If he lays one hand on her . . .'

"You will not touch me." Kagome's voice had dropped to match Takanou's. "If you think that little burn I gave you hurt, you don't want to feel the real thing."

Takanou smiled, the same fierce smile he would wear when practicing with Kagome. "You would have to touch me, first. I will knock you flat, then take you away from here. I am a youkai, you know you cannot move as fast as me. You know that I am stronger than you."

"If I can hold Sesshomaru off, I know I can kick your ass."

A faint pink glow was visible through the bushes now, letting Sesshomaru know that Kagome had called on her miko powers.

"Baka. Sesshomaru was right to call you defiant. You will stop this resistance and come with me. If you cannot see the danger you are in I must save you from yourself."

Sesshomaru heard Takanou move towards Kagome. He drew Tokijin and leapt into the air, clearing the bushes and finally able to see what was going on. Kagome's hands were glowing, standing her ground as Takanou advanced. At the sight of the youkai exploding from the bushes Takanou froze, staring in fright. Kagome did not even glance at Sesshomaru, she focused on Takanou. When the youkai looked away from her she attacked, grabbing his arm and purifying him. His flesh burned away to the bone, spreading up his arm as he screamed and tried to draw back.

The inu-youkai landed in front of Kagome, knocking her back so he could attack Takanou. Kagome fell to the ground, glaring at both of the youkai as Takanou scrambled back, holding the remains of his arm.

"You have threatened one under this Sesshomaru's protection." The amber eyes had gone to red, all calm was leaking away. "Your life is forfeit."

Takanou whimpered, huddling into a ball. "Only if you can catch me," he whispered as his clothing collapsed, empty.

"What happened?" Kagome moved towards the clothes, looking for Takanou's escape route.

Sesshomaru growled low with frustration, eyes still red. "Coward. Worthless beast." He could not smell the youkai at all anymore. "An illusion. Still too much of a coward to risk coming here."

"No, I burned him, that was real. The illusion must have been him in a ball. He has run, covering his scent." The miko glanced around, as though expecting him to leap out at her. "I don't know how we can track him."

A low growl answered her. Kagome glanced over at Sesshomaru and was surprised to see that he had not calmed yet. His eyes were still a burning red. "Sesshomaru-sama? He is gone now, the danger is past." Having been with Inuyasha at times like this had taught her how to handle the situation.

"Sesshomaru-sama, it's the miko. Kagome." Carefully making eye contact, trying to not seem defiant, she called his name. Carefully she approached him, reaching for his arm despite the warning growls. "Sesshomaru-sama."

The soothing voice and touch brought back the world of sanity. The eyes faded, returning to amber as Sesshomaru focused.

"Kagome. Explain yourself."

"My, my lord?" Not what she had expected.

"Why were you out here this late with that traitor?"

'Oh, Kami, he _is_ going to kill me after all!' "I got a n-note and thought I should see what he wanted, I wasn't going to run, I swear!"

"Truly. That is all you were doing?"

"I knew he was worried about me, I wanted to tell him that I was fine here, that I did not want to leave. He did not take it well."

Finally Sesshomaru relaxed. "Hai, this Sesshomaru saw that."

'How long was he watching? What did her hear? Oh, I know I just started blushing.' Turning her head away to hide her blush Kagome studied some flowers. A gentle hand turned her face back to his.

"You should return to bed. You need sleep."

"Hai, my lord." Kagome turned to leave, then paused. "Will you walk with me? I'm a little nervous now. I don't know where Takanou went."

"Hai."

The couple walked slowly back up to the palace, Sesshomaru keeping a careful watch for the traitor. Kagome snuck glances at the youkai, wondering what he had seen or was thinking. She was certain that her behavior had looked very guilty. The youkai lord walked with her all the way to her room in silence, giving no hints away.

"Arigato, Sesshomaru." Kagome slid her door open.

"Takanou lied. This Sesshomaru does not intend to destroy you." He was not looking towards her, but was staring straight ahead, no expression on his face.

A small smile appeared on Kagome's face. Unsure of what to say she moved to Sesshomaru's side, went up onto tiptoes, and kissed him on the cheek. Startled amber eyes met hers. 'I can see emotions in his eyes now. Is it because I'm learning to read them or is it because he is letting me see them?'

Sesshomaru's hand touched Kagome's cheek. A soft, gentle kiss was pressed to her lips. This was no attempt at dominance, it was comforting and warm. Kagome pressed into him, amazed at the difference. The youkai broke away first, guiding Kagome into her own room. "Sleep." He slid the door shut, leaving Kagome alone.

In the peace of her room Kagome raised a hand to her lips in wonder. 'That, that was what I thought a kiss was supposed to be like.

----

'There will be no rest tonight.' Sesshomaru was rousing his generals, sending them out into the night to find the traitor. The search was to include all of his lands, and a messenger was sent to the Lord of the North to tell him of the traitor's flight. Takanou's family had come from the north so he may try to return there. All of the servants were helping to run a search of the palace, ensuring that the healer was not hiding in Sesshomaru's own home. Kumo was moved into Kagome's room for the night and a guard was posted at her door to watch both her and Rin. The youkai lord would be taking no chances.

The search of the palace and grounds revealed nothing. The healer's room looked untouched, his belongings gave no hint as to his plans. Sesshomaru had searched the grounds himself, but was not able to find any sign of the traitor. Frustration at not being able to find his quarry drove Sesshomaru's temper higher, pushing against his control. 'Damn him to hell. How did I not see his betrayal coming? How could Kagome be so naïve? Did she truly believe that she could just tell the youkai no and that he would leave her alone? Why did she not come to me and tell me of her concerns?'

'She did not want you to kill the healer, of course.'

'Fool. Why would she protect one who would attempt to betray his lord? She truly tries to see the good in everyone. A trait that will get her killed yet. It has been very close before. And I almost let it happen.'

A growl escaped the inu-youkai. He had moved into the woods in his hunt, and now took some of his frustration out on a helpless tree, slashing through it with his claws. 'She slipped out while I was resting. If I had not woken when I did she would be gone now.'

'Maybe not. She may have defeated Takanou.'

'Keh. A ningen defeating Takanou? He may have just been a healer, but he was also a skilled fighter from a family renowned for their skills in battle. The ningen would not have stood a chance.'

'No, think. She burned his arm to the bone. She had not even used some of the tricks you have seen her use, such as that barrier. She may have been able to escape after all. She needs to learn to carry a weapon, though. She was unarmed. That's not entirely true, she is always armed. She will make a very dangerous opponent soon.'

'It is this Sesshomaru's position to protect her. She should not have been able to get into that situation. Must I lock her into her room? Has she no sense?'

Another tree toppled as Sesshomaru vented his frustration. 'The miko still does not realize that there are those that would like to harm her. A miko of her power would be a target, either to destroy or control.'

'Just as you thought when you first saw her.'

Tokijin destroyed a swath of trees at that thought. 'Hai. I had not known then how strong she was, how uncontrollable, defiant, kind, forgiving. Damn her. I was not looking for this. I do not want this. Even with Rin the emotions are not threatening to overwhelm reason. Now, now I respond as though someone has threatened my mate. A ningen. Is this a problem in the bloodline? First father, then Inuyasha, and now. . .'

Sesshomaru began to walk back to the palace. 'She must have a care for her person. I do not know how I will react if she is in danger again. Control was slipping even today. She had not run, though. She had touched me, even as my youkai tried to take control. She is lucky that her arm was not removed. Her kindness borders on insanity. I must return, it is my responsibility to protect her.'

'Mine.'

Ignoring the voice of his youkai urges, Sesshomaru returned to a palace that was as bright and active as it would be in the middle of the day. One of his captains ran to meet him, skidding to a stop and bowing low. "No sign of the traitor, Sesshomaru-sama. The extra guards have been placed and the search parties have set out to search your lands."

"Find him, Captain." Sesshomaru continued into the palace, returning to his own room. He changed into a robe, trying to make his body relax. The traitor was not here, the search would continue in the morning. His place was here, to keep the miko safe. Silently he slid the door between the two rooms open, looking in on her as she slept. Kumo was sitting by the door, watching over her lady. Seeing movement Kumo spun to face the youkai, a dagger appearing in her hand.

When she realized who it was she gasped and bowed. Whispering to avoid waking the miko, "Forgive me, Sesshomaru-sama. I did not know that it was you."

"It was the correct reaction." Sesshomaru moved to look down on Kagome. A gentle finger moved her hair away from her face.

The miko stirred and opened her eyes, focusing on Sesshomaru. "My lord?"

"There is no sign of the traitor. The search will continue when the light returns. You are to stay inside until further notice. Do not leave your room without an escort."

Kagome nodded, her eyes round. "What, what do you think he will do? Is he going to come after me again?"

"Perhaps. He is a coward, returning would be very foolish. Nonetheless, you will remain under guard until he is found." Sesshomaru turned and walked back to his door. "Have a care for yourself, miko. Do not put yourself into danger needlessly. This Sesshomaru will find the traitor and remove the threat."

Alone in her room Kagome burrowed into her blankets. Surrounded by guards had helped, but having Sesshomaru in the next room made her feel safer. The healer had gone from a friend to a threat in the span of a few minutes. Now Kagome would need to have an escort with her and would not be allowed out to the gardens. 'Damn that healer.'

Pulling a pillow over her head Kagome sank back down into sleep. In the next room Sesshomaru paced restlessly. He could not relax and risk having something happen while his eyes were closed. When the sun rose Sesshomaru was looking out the window, still trying to discover where the traitor had gone.


	12. Boy Trouble

A/N: As promised, a flashback about Sesshomaru's arm. It's brief, but at least it will explain it away. I was trying to make it seem like an episode in the anime, but it came out a bit lame. Okay, a whole bunch lame. Big cookie to Nilee, nice catch. Poor Sesshy is going to have to deal with that problem. Half of him wants to use her and lose her just like Takanou said, while the other half won't let him. Oh well. I only own Takanou and Kumo, the rest are safe.

'I am sick of looking at walls.'

A week had passed since Takanou had disappeared. Kagome had been kept inside and under guard for the entire week, and she was getting bored. She picked at her breakfast, not really hungry. Her thoughts were on seeing the sky.

Rin catapulted out of her place, breakfast done.

"Rin." This time it was Kagome that called the girl's name. Rin stopped dead, then hurried back to her place and sat down.

"Sesshomaru-sama, may I be excused?" Kagome had been coaching Rin on her manners, and Rin was hoping to please her Sesshomaru-sama.

A nod from the youkai lord sent Rin flying back out of her seat. Remembering Kagome's instructions, she forced herself to walk across the room. Once she was sure that no one could see her she took off at a run, rushing to her practice.

Kagome laughed when she heard Rin's feet on the floor breaking into a run. "Well, its still progress." The last week had given the miko extra time to spend with Rin, focusing on reining in some of the girl's more out of control behavior. Traveling through the woods with a youkai and an imp did little to teach a girl how to behave.

Sesshomaru just looked at her. Kagome blushed and looked down at her breakfast, a rather intense scene from the night before flashing through her mind. It had been after her bath. Kumo had been walking with her, making small talk as Kagome toweled her hair. With her eyes on Kumo and her mind on her hair the miko had run smack into Sesshomaru, falling back. The lord had caught her before she hit the ground, pulling her up into his arms. Kumo had made herself scarce, since her lady did not need her as a guard anymore.

Blushing furiously, Kagome stared at her breakfast. She hoped that no one had seen them in the hallway. It had been, rather involved. Anyone that had peeked would have seen quite a bit of Kagome's charms, her robe pushed open and pulled up. Only the risk of being caught had brought the two to their senses.

"My lord." A member of the guard came in, bowing low. "There are two ningen approaching the palace. One is in the garb of a monk, the other is a youkai exterminator, and they have a neko-youkai with them."

Excitement washed over Kagome. "Miroku? Sango? They're here?"

"The ningen are guests of Kagome-sama. See that they are brought into the receiving hall." Sesshomaru had known that this might happen. Kagome had sent out a message to let her friends know where she was. They were probably going to cause trouble, trying to rescue her. The youkai exterminator might prove to be a problem. The monk, he had some history with the monk and was hopeful that the monk would see sense.

_A year ago a rumor had reached the inu-youkai of a shrine that could heal any injury, no matter how serious or old. He had never accepted the loss of his arm, and had gone to investigate. The shrine was the home of a river god, powerful and lovely. Her shrine was being controlled by a youkai with three Shikon jewel shards in it's forehead. When Sesshomaru arrived to investigate the rumors he had found the monk already battling with the youkai. Drawing Tokijin, Sesshomaru had expected to end the battle quickly and continue with his investigation. The youkai was undead, however, and did not succumb to the attack. In the end it had been a combination of the monk's sutras and Sesshomaru's attacks that had brought the beast down. The river god had been very thankful. In an instant the youkai's arm had been restored. The monk's wind tunnel had not been repairable, but the river god had been able to repair the damage around it, shrinking it back to it's original size. This repair would help to extend the monk's life, putting off the time when the wind tunnel would devour him as well as his opponent. The monk and the youkai had left with barely a word, but no threats either. _

"Come, your guests will be here soon. There will be a long explanation." Sesshomaru led Kagome to the receiving hall. Rin was there, practicing with a new instructor. Since neither of the ningens were allowed outside of the palace, practices were now being held indoors. The new instructor had been the captain of Sesshomaru's personal guard, but was now retired. He had trained many of the guards, and was now training Rin and Kagome. Initially he had tried to refuse the assignment, not wanting to waste his time on ningen females. Now he was enjoying himself, having a new, eager student to concentrate on.

"You are slower than my grandmother, and she has already passed to the next world! Again!" The old youkai watched closely as Rin moved through the drill again, faster this time. "Watch your guard arm, don't hold it out like that, do you want to be a target? You opponent does not need that much of an invitation to kill you!"

Rin loved her new instructor. He was loud, rude, and had given her a couple of bruises while working with her, but he would always praise her when she made progress. He gave her all of his attention, focusing on her every move and working to make her better. The miko, well, the Captain was a little bit less certain about that one. She worked hard, driving herself to improve, but it was that pink aura that disturbed the old youkai. She had not burned him, but he had heard about the injury on Takanou. Very unsettling to have a miko of that power in the palace, learning to fight.

The Lord of the West watched with pride as his ward ran through her drills for her new instructor. There would be no weak females around him. His eyes tracked to Kagome who was pacing about the room, excited about her friends' arrival. The miko was certainly not weak. He had never seen the captain flinch away before, but he had moved back the first time Kagome swung at him while cloaked in that pink glow.

"Sesshomaru-sama, Kagome-sama, your guests have arrived."

The servant bowed himself out, leaving a perplexed couple in the doorway. Both were caught somewhere between preparing for battle and bowing politely. It certainly did not help that Rin was having a firm yelling from her instructor in the middle of the hall, distracting Kagome from the servant's announcement.

"Now, I don't think that comment about her appearance was totally necessary." Kagome was grumbling to the youkai lord as Rin concentrated on her lesson. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her. "What? She doesn't need to hear that!"

"Kagome?"

The miko's eyes lit up as she swung towards that voice. "Sango? Mirokou? Kirara? Kami, you're here!"

Oblivious to the danger Kagome ran through Rin's practice to get to her friends. Rin pulled up to avoid attacking her friend, earning her a compliment on her reflexes from her instructor. Kagome was oblivious, only caring about getting to her friend. Sango grabbed her in a bone crushing grip, knocking the wind out of her. Kirara jumped to Mirokou to avoid being crushed as the two girls collapsed into hysterical babbling as they embraced.

Every member of the audience was feeling uncomfortable. Wild emotional displays were the domain of ningens, and Sesshomaru was not used to seeing them in his hall. Even Rin was uncomfortable, not used to seeing this kind of behavior. Mirokou broke away from the girls and moved to bow before Sesshomaru. "Greetings, Sesshomaru-sama. Thank you for the kind welcome."

'At least the monk has manners.' Sesshomaru nodded to the monk. 'The miko has no room left to criticize Rin about her behaviors after this.'

The two girls finally broke apart, realizing that the hall was silent. Kagome giggled. "Um, Sesshomaru-sama, I believe you have met my friends before. Sango, Mirokou."

That eyebrow went up again, Sesshomaru's face unreadable even to Kagome. 'Oh yeah, he usually sees them trying to kill him. No wonder everyone is acting so weird.'

"Well, I think we should let you guys rest after your travel here. We need to catch up, I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

"Kagome, are you a prisoner? Are you hurt? What has happened to you?" Sango was not wasting time with pleasantries.

A low growl came from Sesshomaru. "She is not a prisoner. No harm has come to her, she is a guest."

"Sango, it sounds very weird, but Sesshomaru-sama has been caring for me. He found me the night that I tried to go home. The well is sealed now. He found me unconscious with demons all around me. I've been here ever since." Kagome grabbed Sango's hand. "Come on, I'll explain while we are eating and soaking in a hot spring. Rin, are you done? Do you want to come with us?"

"Rin is not done practicing, but Rin can come up and meet the new friends later, okay?" Rin's answer made her instructor beam at her. 'Maybe the young lady is ready to start learning some of the new weapons I've seen her gazing at. Just as a treat.'

The miko dragged her friend out the door and down the hall, not giving her a chance to respond. The monk watched with great interest. "Well, if she wants to answer the questions in the hot springs, then . . ."

A low growl stopped him. "Monk, a tray of food will be sent up to your room. Follow the servant to a place to rest while the ladies are bathing."

"Of course, my lord." Mirokou dropped a low bow, then followed one of the servants to a guest room.

The weapons practice continued on as though nothing had happened, leaving Sesshomaru some time to think over this new disturbance to his life. 'I must watch that monk closely, he has the eyes of a lecher. Perhaps a guard should be stationed to the bath house. Just for the visit.'

----

Kumo was starting to wonder how many females she was going to have in her charge now. Kagome had rushed into the room, gathered up her bath things and some clothes for her friend, and swept back out the door. Kumo had grabbed the things she had forgotten, such as clothing for herself, and followed the ladies to the hot spring. Determined that Kagome would not destroy her hair again the servant had promptly sat her down and set to work washing her hair.

Sango did not even know what to think. 'I expected to find her as a prisoner or a servant that would need to be rescued. Now I'm sitting in the hot spring watching her servant wash her hair for her. She had been standing in the reception hall with Sesshomaru looking rather like an annoyed mother watching her child. With her mate. They had looked very comfortable together, and very close. What the hell is going on? He hates ningens, he has tried to kill her, and Kagome has always gotten herself into the middle of his fights with Inuyasha! Why does she almost seem to be the lady of this palace?'

"Thank you, Kumo." Kagome's hair was pinned up on top of her head now, clean and brushed. She slipped into the hot water with a sigh. "Ah, much better."

"My lady, would you like some assistance?" Kumo already knew that this new female would want nothing to do with her assistance, but this was the first part to training a new charge, and it seemed to Kumo that she had indeed picked up yet another charge. 'Time to start considering an assistant if she is half as difficult to manage as the other two.'

"No! No, I'm fine. Arigato." Sango slipped into the water next to Kagome. "Alright, you need to start talking. I guess I can see him picking you up unconscious and bringing you here, but Kagome, what is going on? You have your own servant! I saw the clothes in you room! Hell, I saw your room!"

Kagome was very startled to hear her friend start to swear. "I'm not a prisoner or a slave or anything. I really am his guest." 'Uh oh, starting to blush already. Sango's going to be on that in three, two, one . . ."

"You're blushing. What aren't you telling me? Why are you all of a sudden so friendly with someone who has tried to kill you?" Sango could see the emotions on Kagome's face after being friends for such a long time. "Oh, Kami, what happened? Kagome, are you in love with Sesshomaru!"

"No! Of course not! Why would you think that?" Kagome sank down in the water until just the top half of her head was sticking out.

"Get up here! I'm your best friend, you think you can hide something like this from me?" Sango pulled Kagome back up out of the water, giving her a little shake. "You better start telling me what is actually going on or I swear . . ."

"Okay, I give! I've been feeling, something for him. I don't know what, or why, but when he's around me I can't help it. Ever since he kissed me that first time . . ."

"Kissed you? First time? You've been kissing Sesshomaru!"

"Well, yeah."

"How much?"

"Um, well, not that much the first couple of weeks, but the last week or so it's been happening . . . more often."

"Kagome, have you done more than kiss him?"

"No, we haven't done _that_. Just kissing, a lot. And his hair is really soft."

"Wow. What are you going to do? Does he love you?"

"No." There was no hiding the sadness in Kagome's voice. "He doesn't. I don't think he could. I think he does care about me, a little. He really does try to protect me, and seems to care whether or not I'm okay. Caring about me is better then nothing, you know. At least he isn't leaving me for a clay pot."

"Inuyasha. What happened there? Your note didn't leave much information."

"What's there to say? Kikyou was dying, and he chose to follow her. He left me." The tears were starting to fall. "He left me to die alone, and I would have. I wanted to. But Sesshomaru found me and rescued me. Now, now I don't know what Sesshomaru wants. He says that I'm here as a friend to Rin. I miss Inuyasha, Sango. I still miss him. I loved him, but now he's gone. It hurts less, this way. I know Sesshomaru doesn't love me, that he can't love me, but at least he cares and I don't have to play second best."

Sango pulled Kagome into her arms, holding her while she cried. 'Damn them both. First Inuyasha for his choice, then Sesshomaru. She loves him. Even if she doesn't now she will soon, and that cold bastard can't feel the same way for her. She's going to get hurt again. I don't know how many more times Kagome can have her heart broken and put it back together. That bastard, he is going to have some explaining to do.'

"It will be okay, Kagome."

Kagome straightened up, wiping away her tears. "I'm so glad to have you back, Sango. I haven't had anyone to talk to about these things. Boy trouble is when a girl really needs her friends. Speaking of which, how is Mirokou?"

Now it was Sango's turn to blush. "He is well." The youkai exterminator's eyes were suddenly drawn to the far wall. "Is it not time to get out and dress?"

"Oh, that's not going to work on me." Kagome splashed water at Sango. "Tell me the truth!"

Silence was the answer that was given, so Kagome tackled Sango, trying to force a yield out of her. "Come on, give! I told you now you tell me!"

"Later, later. Let's get some food first. Then I'll tell you all about Mirokou."

----

Kumo watched, forgotten, as her lady's friend comforted her. The pieces were starting to fall into place. It was a courtship, all right, but the ningen did not think it was real. Her heart was still broken for another, she thought that the lord could never care for her. Kumo was already very fond of her lady and wanted to make sure that she stayed on as the new lady of the palace. Sesshomaru needed a mate to produce heirs and to help with his duties. Here was a perfect mate, a powerful miko. 'I certainly hope that my lord realizes what he has right in front of him before it is too late.'


	13. Mine

A/N: The plot thickens? What plot, who said I have a plot? -glances around- I've got some votes to kill Takanou, some votes to save Takanou, and some people who just think he's freaked out for unknown reasons. I'll hold off on him for a bit yet. And for Nilee, poor Sesshy doesn't get to make that choice. Am I evil? Probably. Okay, we've got everybody together again, lets hit puree and see what we get. -grin- And now I only own Kumo, since Takanou refuses to come out and play. The rest are not mine.

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'This is, awkward.' Kagome sat between Rin and Sango, keeping an eye on Sesshomaru as he glared at Mirokou.

----

Things had started out well. Sango had filled Kagome in on her relationship with Mirokou while they had relaxed and changed. Rin and Mirokou had joined them for lunch and a tour around the palace. Kagome was overjoyed to hear that Mirokou and Sango would be getting married and rebuilding Sango's old village that had been destroyed. While the monk still had eyes that wandered, his hands stayed on Sango only. Even with the sharp smacks to remind him of his manners.

After a long walk, and a long talk, Sango had retired to the room she was sharing with Mirokou to rest. Kagome had gone to the reception hall to make up for the practice she had missed with her friends. Her new instructor had insisted that she learn to take up a sword as well as her staff. With a wooden blade the miko moved through the same drills that Rin had practiced that morning.

'Rin's better at this than me.' Kagome smiled at the thought. 'That one just seems to know what to do, while I have to think about each move. It slows me down. It's a good thing I'm a miko, because I don't think I'm cut out to be a fighter.'

In the quiet room she was able to concentrate, slowly bringing up her aura and working with her powers as she drilled. She could sense that someone was watching her, and she had a good idea of who it was. "Good afternoon, Sesshomaru-sama."

The youkai lord was rather surprised that she knew he was there. Normally he would have been able to watch her to his heart's content, but now she could sense him. 'She is getting stronger.' He moved out of the shadows to where Kagome continued to practice. "Miko."

Kagome threw a glare over her shoulder. "Hey, knock that off."

A low growl rumbled through his chest, but he was not angry. "Kagome." He loved it when she would get that defiant look in her eye.

The glare changed to a smile. "Are you here to watch me practice?"

"Hai. You are in need of assistance. Your movements are stiff and disconnected."

Back to glaring. "Gee, thanks."

"Here." Sesshomaru moved behind her, laying his hands on hers. "It is not a series of movements, it is one fluid movement. Stop thinking about it and just do."

"If I don't think about it then I don't know what to do!"

"Calm yourself. Your body has been learning the responses."

Grinding her teeth Kagome started the drill again. Sesshomaru was not pleased with her efforts. "That is not calm. That is tense and angry."

'Okay, fine. Breathe in, ignore the damn arrogant bastard, breathe out.' Repeating her deep breath several times made her relax muscles she did not even know were tight. Shaking her shoulders out Kagome started again.

"Close your eyes."

'Bah, this is like a bad movie's training sequence.' Kagome closed her eyes and tried to relax. 'All one movement.'

The miko was starting to move. Finally, she was starting to move her body instead of snapping through a routine. The youkai watched carefully as she ran through her drills, a much more fluid and dangerous picture. He moved to pick up a practice blade of his own. "Now, without tensing, come at me."

'Don't think, don't tense, just do it.' Kagome did not stop her drill, she simply turned and included Sesshomaru. 'Breathe, girl, keep breathing.'

Sesshomaru was not interested in pushing her, he just wanted her to move while engaging her enemy. He moved about the hall, encouraging her to move instead of just standing there like a target while she tried to make up her mind. He increased the tempo slowly, making the miko rely on her reflexes rather then her mind.

After an hour of steady work her opponent stopped attacking. Kagome was exhausted, but elated. Not only did she think that she had a feel for this now, she had sparred with Sesshomaru without blood loss, bruises, or burns! Both were major accomplishments. She smiled up at her partner. "Arigato. I think I see what you mean now."

'Kami, I want her.' The inu-youkai fought hard to keep himself under control. The images dancing through his mind distracted him, making it hard to focus on the miko in front of him. He moved towards her, only partially aware of what he was doing. His arms went around her, pulling her up against him. He stared down into her eyes, feeling her pulse quicken and her body react.

Kagome could see lust raging in those gorgeous eyes, lust and something else. Was he proud of her? "Sesshomaru. . ." His mouth dropped to hers, stopping her words and making her see stars behind her closed eyes. 'I could never get enough of this.' She wrapped her arm around him, the other hand still gripping her practice blade.

'Mine.' Sesshomaru fought against that voice, his youkai instincts trying to take over. 'Mate.'

The youkai broke lose, his pale skin going to pure white. 'Mate? What?' He stared at the miko who was gazing back at him with a curious look.

"Sesshomaru? Is something wrong?" If she didn't know better, she would say that the youkai lord was scared of something.

"No, nothing is wrong. There is something that this Sesshomaru needs to attend to." He ran a hand over her cheek, then turned and left the hall. Kagome watched him go with a perplexed expression.

'Now what?'

----

Kagome had not seen Sesshomaru after practice. She had cleaned herself up and found her friends. Sango had filled in Mirokou on her new situation, so now Mirokou was after her.

"You should know better than to give your heart to someone that cannot return your feelings."

"Hey! I just kissed him, it's not like I've married him or anything. And I don't see how it is any of your business!" Kagome was starting to get pretty upset over this. "You guys were all about me and Inuyasha, and we saw how well that went. I've learned my lesson."

"Really." Mirokou was giving her a blank look. "You are fine to be here and have some sort of, relationship, with him and know that he can not feel anything for you?"

"He does feel something. I know he cares about me. A little."

Sango sat down next to Kagome and pulled her into a hug. "Kagome-chan, you know that unrequited love is the hardest to give up on. We just don't want you to trap yourself here, in love with a youkai who cannot love you back."

'I will _not_ cry!' Kagome bit her lower lip. 'I need to find out what Sesshomaru is thinking. He wouldn't lie to me. Hell, he wouldn't have any issue with telling me that I was just a ningen, nothing more than a distraction. Does he care for me? If not, what do I do then?'

A tap at the door had stopped the heavy discussion. Rin waited politely for about a second, then started to rap at the door. "Kagome-chan, are you in there? We will be late!"

"Is it that late already? Come on, you two, time for dinner. And behave yourselves, I've finally got Rin to the point she will sit through the meal, I don't need you two to cause a relapse."

----

Sesshomaru glared at Mirokou, who was glaring right back. Sango was wishing for a weapon, any weapon. Kagome was trying to intervene and keep things from spiraling even more out of control. "Mirokou, why don't you try some of the fish, it is wonderful."

Mirokou ignored her in favor of glaring at the host. Rin was looking back and forth, mystified. "Kagome-chan, what are they doing?"

"They are being idiots, Jo-chan," Kagome hissed to her.

"Sesshomaru-sama, what are your intentions with Kagome-sama?"

"Mirokou! What are you doing!" The miko had gone to bright red and looked furious.

"This Sesshomaru's intentions do not concern you, monk." The steady glare never changed, but Kagome could see his hands starting to tense.

'Fabulous, I was worried that they were going to give Rin a bad example and here they are going to kill each other over the table.' Kagome was signing at Mirokou to stop, but he did not even glance her way.

"We are her friends, with her family gone we are here as her family. I want to know what you are planning for her." Mirokou was leaning over the table, blatantly challenging the youkai lord.

"That is for Kagome to discuss, not you."

Mirokou jumped to his feet. "Kagome-sama, I will not leave you here with him."

'Not again.' Kagome rolled her eyes. "Mirokou, sit down and behave. I am not in any danger and I'm not going anywhere."

"I do not want you to get hurt again. Sango, talk to her."

Sango stared at her hands, then looked up to her friend. "I'm worried, Kagome. He is going to break your heart."

All eyes returned to Sesshomaru as he let out a low growl. "You do not know this Sesshomaru or his intentions."

Kagome was startled by the outburst. His voice did not change, nor his expression, but his eyes were starting to bleed red. "Sesshomaru-sama . . ."

Mirokou knelt down next to her. "Kagome-sama, please listen to me." He put his hand on her shoulder.

"MINE!"

Sesshomaru leapt over the table, knocking Mirokou across the room. Sango ran to the monk, standing between him and the enraged youkai. "Stay away from him!"

"Sesshomaru, what are you doing?" Kagome was on her feet now, running to protect her friends. "He's a friend, he did not mean anything by that!"

'Oh, Kami, Sesshomaru is gone. The youkai is in control.' Kagome could see that the inu-youkai's eyes were red and a low growl was rumbling from him. 'He's going to kill Mirokou for touching me.'

Desperation helped Kagome as she threw a barrier up around herself and her friends. Sesshomaru paced around the perimeter, testing the barrier as he glared at Mirokou.

"Kagome, what are we going to do?" Sango was helping Mirokou up. He seemed to be unhurt, just dazed. "He is going to kill us."

The miko gazed at the youkai. Taking a deep breath she stood and walked through her barrier. Sango tried to follow her but was not able to pass the barrier. "Kagome! Stop!"

"Sesshomaru-sama."

The inu-youkai glared at her, growling as he moved closer.

"Sesshomaru, it's the miko. Kagome. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." Kagome moved towards him slowly, looking at about his chest level and tipping her head to the side in a submissive gesture. "It's Kagome, Sesshomaru. I'm not going anywhere."

He was only an arm's length away, still growling. Kagome reached out to touch his arm, trying not to jump back as his growls became louder. Carefully she moved to him, running her hands up to his shoulders. "Sesshomaru." She pressed her face to his haori, breathing deeply. His arms came up slowly, wrapping around her. He moved his head down so that his cheek was pressed to her hair.

"Mate."

The soft whisper was almost missed by Kagome. She glanced up in shock, relieved to see the amber eyes gazing back down at her. "What did you say?"

That slightly afraid expression was back in his eyes. He reached up to touch her hair, whispering to her. "Later. When there is no audience."

Kagome was suddenly aware that Mirokou and Sango were staring at them from inside of her barrier. Rin was still at her spot at the table, looking confused and a little hopeful. The miko started to move away, but Sesshomaru pulled her back to him. Rolling her eyes she turned in his arms to release the barrier around her friends. "Mirokou, Sango, are you alright?"

Sango nodded slowly, astounded at what she had just seen. Kagome had calmed Sesshomaru down from a killing rage, and now he would not let her go. She was standing in his arms, leaning back against him. Mirokou was still being glared at, though, so Sango put him behind her. "Kagome, are you alright?"

A soft sigh escaped the miko. "Yes, Sango, I'm fine. I'm going to suggest that you and Mirokou call it a night, though. I'm going to stay with Sesshomaru for awhile, just in case. Rin, would you like to come with us?"

Rin was relieved that she had not been forgotten. "Hai, Kagome-chan!" She jumped up from her spot and ran to her two favorite people in the world. "Sesshomaru-sama, do you feel better now?"

The inu-youkai tucked Kagome's head under his chin. "Hai." 'I feel much better now. What has happened? Has my other half decided that she is my mate? Later, now I need to get away from that male before I throw him again. Kagome would be very upset if I killed him.'

Still glaring, Mirokou was dragged out of the room by Sango. The youkai exterminator was not taking any risks around the newly mated youkai lord. Youkai males can be very touchy about new mates.

"Sesshomaru-sama, could we go into the courtyard? You will be with us, and there are guards. It would be good to get some fresh air." Kagome was gazing up at him big eyes, hoping that she could see the sky that night.

'Now I know that I am in trouble. That look is becoming very difficult to resist.' "Hai."

A great cheer exploded from Rin as she ran ahead. Sesshomaru walked beside Kagome, resting his hand around her waist. The miko was not going anywhere until he was certain that he was in full control again. It was not certain what could set him off, but if she was with him then she could make sure that no one would get hurt.

The stars were glorious with a full moon providing light to the courtyard. The fireflies were dancing about the gardens, creating a scene straight from a dream. Kagome breathed in, glad to be outside again. "Ah, that is better, my lord. I needed to get outside."

"Do not do that."

'Huh? What'd I do now?' "My lord? What did I do?"

"That. Do not call me 'my lord'. It does not suit you." Sesshomaru's eyes were on the gardens, but his arm tightened around her. "I would rather you call me 'youkai'. It suits you better."

Kagome was not sure what shocked her more, the fact that she was being told to not use a title, or the fact that he had spoken informally to her. The youkai saw her shocked expression and used a finger under her chin to push her mouth closed. She turned to watch Rin skipping about the courtyard. She had been going quietly insane kept inside away from her flowers. She could not get to the gardens, but at least she could feel the night air on her face. She scrambled up a tree, reveling in her freedom.

"Rin! Don't you dare get stuck, Kumo will kill me if I rip anymore clothes!" Kagome glared up at the girl that was easily making her way to the top. "Those damn lessons are making her strong enough that she can get into even more trouble."

Contentment eased over Sesshomaru, a new sensation that he was not sure he understood. He was happy to stand here with Kagome and watch the pup playing in a tree. 'Yes, this is what a family is like. Not the family I had planned on, certainly.' He turned to the beautiful female at his side. "Kagome, we do need to speak."

"Hai," she whispered. "You may want to move back, though. I'm about to get pretty loud and I don't want to hurt your ears."

Sesshomaru reluctantly moved back.

"Rin, you get down here right now! Don't pretend you can't hear me, I know that trick!" Hands on her hips Kagome glared up at the tree. "Don't make me come up there!"

A giggle came down from the tree. "Rin is not sure Kagome-chan can make it this high."

"Oh, she did not just say that." Kagome stomped over to the tree, grabbing a hold of a branch and tucking up her kimono. "You are so dead when I get you."

"Enough."

Sesshomaru was in the tree next to Rin before either of the females saw him move. "Rin."

"Sorry, Sesshomaru-sama. Rin will get down now."

With a sigh Sesshomaru scooped the girl up and jumped down. Rin bowed politely when she was set on the ground. "Rin is ready for bed now, Sesshomaru-sama."

"Oh, Rin, I'm not mad at you. I know you have hated to be locked up inside. Come on, I'll tell you a story before you go to bed." Kagome took Rin's hand and walked with her across the courtyard. Sesshomaru followed behind, trying to figure out what he would say to Kagome when she started to ask him questions.

'Mate. And she heard me say it. Now she is going to want to know what I meant. Am I going to take her as my mate? I was not looking for this. I do not want this. This was supposed to be a solution to my obsession. My mate was to be a powerful youkai female, the mother of my heir. But I could never let this miko go. I need her near me. The monk almost died tonight because he dared to touch her. She could still talk to me, though. If not for her I may have killed tonight, or destroyed part of the palace, or both. Can I take a ningen? She is not weak, or foolish. She is more like an inu-youkai female than anything else. It does not matter what I wanted for a mate anymore. My other half has already made the choice, and there is nothing I can do to change it. No matter how foolish or inappropriate the choice is. Whether or not I wish for it, she has been chosen. The question is now whether or not she will run.'


	14. Fairy Tales

A/N: Holy cow, 94 reviews! I feel so loved! Oh, come on inu-ear-tweaker, he just didn't know any better. Thank you to all of the readers that are following along on this beast. It's like the song that doesn't end, I have no idea how big this beast is going to get. Just having too much fun. Aside from Kumo they aren't mine, I just love to mess with them. Especially Sesshy. For those of you who like citrusy content, there is a more adult (quite adult, actually) version of this chapter on Single Spark.

"And they all lived happily ever after."

Rin was snoring quietly in her bed, the picture of innocence and peace. Her sword was resting against the wall within arm's reach while a drawing of Sesshomaru and Kagome was stuck to the wall. The not so little girl had fallen asleep easily, watched over by her two favorite people in the world.

On tip toe so the girl would stay asleep Kagome slipped out, followed by Sesshomaru. The Lord of the Western Lands had rather enjoyed the bedtime story. He had never heard anything quite like the story of Cinderella, with extravagant balls and fairy godmothers. While he thought the unfortunate girl in the story would have been better served by poisoning the nasty wenches she served, it was still a good story for a young girl. Rin had demanded a description of Prince Charming, certain that he would look like Sesshomaru-sama. Kagome had blushed scarlet.

"Prince Charming can look like whoever you want, Jo-chan. It is more important that he has a good heart."

"Then Prince Charming looks like Sesshomaru-sama," Rin declared.

Sesshomaru followed Kagome to her room, bracing himself for a difficult conversation. Hopefully it would not digress to a confrontation as well. The couple stared at each other in awkward silence, unsure of what to do. Kagome was looking about the room, wishing for somewhere to sit other than the bed. The bed was too . . . distracting.

"Come." Sesshomaru slid the door between the rooms open, moving to his own room. In his room there was a table with a hot pot of tea waiting. Perhaps the calm atmosphere of sitting down to tea would help the conversation be less, painful.

Peeking around the corner Kagome examined the room she had never seen. It was large, of course. The focal point of the whole room was a massive bed covered with brilliant blankets. The other furnishings were sparse, with little decoration. A table set to the side held the tea and would make a much more comfortable place to talk.

After pouring tea for Sesshomaru and herself Kagome tried to find a way to break the awkward silence. 'Okay, we know that we have to talk. We are both here. Why can't we just start talking? This is so awkward! I have to say something. Think, Kagome, think of something to say that isn't stupid.'

"I like your bed."

Kagome dropped her head to her hands. 'Way to go, genius.'

A faint chuckle escaped the lord. "Arigato. Would you care to examine it closer?"

'I am not going to even bother looking up.' Kagome shook her head while it was still in her hands. 'Baka, Kagome.'

"Kagome, you asked a question earlier that could not be answered before an audience."

'Oh, Kami, thank you for finally bringing it up and saving me.' "Hai. You said 'mate'."

"Hai."

'Like pulling teeth out of a chicken.' Frustration made Kagome grind her teeth. "Care to explain it?"

"It seems that my other half has chosen you as my mate." Sesshomaru's face and voice were so calm that he might as well have been ordering lunch.

"Really? And what does that mean? Do I get a choice in the matter?"

"Is it truly so distasteful that the first question you have is whether or not you can run?"

'Oh, damn, I think I hurt him.' "No! I was just surprised. I don't understand. Sesshomaru, I just _don't_ understand! None of this is how a ningen would do things. I want to understand, though."

Sesshomaru took a breath, relaxing his hands. "My youkai blood has chosen you as my mate. I respond to you. I will protect you from all others, particularly males that would attempt to steal you. Inu-youkai mate for life. My blood has chosen you as a female that is worthy of being a partner and bearing my heirs."

"Heirs? I'm bearing heirs?"

"Not now, baka."

Kagome bristled at him, getting another chuckle from the youkai.

"Peace. That would be in the future. You asked if you had a choice. Yes, I would never force you. If you were a youkai it would be different and the choice would be made for you. I, however, do not have a choice." There was a hint of pain in the last admission.

"No choice? What would happen if I said no?"

"You would go, I would remain. It would feel as though something was missing at all times, and if we were to develop a true bond before you departed it would be impossible for any other female to be with me."

"You have no choice, though. Do you want me, or are you being forced?" Kagome winced even as she asked the question. 'You know the answer. He does not want a ningen. He is probably furious that he is stuck with you. And he won't lie or try to make me feel better. Oh, this is going to hurt.'

There was a long, terrible silence. Amber eyes met cobalt. "I wanted you the first time you growled at me. Then it was physical, a desperate obsession. Now, this Sesshomaru . . . I do not know what this is. I am at peace with you, I need you near me. You are kind and intelligent, as well as defiant to the point of foolish." He raised a hand to stop Kagome's spluttered objections. "You will ask if I love you. I have heard that question enough times from the many who have questioned your choice to stay with me to know that you wish for an answer. There is no answer. I do not know. This is . . . new."

'That didn't hurt! Whew.' "Okay, that's fair, since I don't know what I feel right now either. Is that okay? I thought I had been in love before, but this is very different. I don't want to leave, but this is nothing like the fairy tales."

"Prince Charming."

"I've never heard a story where Prince Charming tries to kill anyone who touches the princess, or slams the princess into a wall. But then again, I always thought Prince Charming was a bit of a wimp."

Sesshomaru had actually flinched at the mention of slamming against walls. "The battle for dominance, it is a constant part of an inu-youkai relationship."

"Well, I'll just have to give you a reminder if you get too rough." Kagome gave him fierce smile, her aura glowing ever so slightly. "I won't go so easy on you next time."

Lust surged into the youkai's eyes at her challenge. 'If she does not desist right now she is going to be in trouble.'

The change had not been lost on the miko, who's pulse jumped. "Perhaps we can finish that debate later." She let her aura fade again. "Right now I want to know what you want."

"Nani?"

"What do you want? Neither of us knows what we are feeling, but we both want to try this out. What does this whole 'mate' thing include?"

"Everything. It includes everything. You would be my partner, my mate." Sesshomaru did not know what the ningen was after this time.

"So, it's like being married?"

"Marriage, that is when two ningens are joined by a priest or a monk? It is not like that. That is two people who live together, a choice made by a ningen. A mate is like the other half. The connection is deeper, and fidelity is never a question. It may be different for you, not being an inu-youkai, but my understanding is that the relationship is the same even when it is with a ningen. The ningen may not have the choice made for them, but the same relationship develops."

"And love?"

"Love? How could one half of a person not love the other half? It is not a question. It is not really considered. It is not like your fairy tales, it is finding your partner and spending the rest of your life with them. There are arguments, sometimes violent ones, but there are not thoughts of leaving. How could you leave half of yourself behind?"

"And I would feel like that, with time?"

"Hai. Probably not as much as an inu-youkai, but similar."

"As my other half, would you share with me?"

The eyebrow went up. "Share?" 'What is the ningen after now. It is not so complicated as all this, it is just fact.'

"Share, tell me how you feel, what you are thinking, what you want."

"I will tell you whatever you wish. You will be able to sense my feelings soon enough. Even now I believe that you are becoming adept at discovering my emotions."

'Yeah, that's right! I had noticed that I could tell his emotions. I thought I was reading them in his eyes, was I feeling them? Have I already started to be his mate?'

Sesshomaru could see the wonder of discovery on Kagome's face. "You have been sensing them." 'Perhaps this is not as one sided as I feared.'

"Is there anything formal about this, do you have a ceremony or something, or do I just move in." Kagome blushed again. 'Oh, that was just classy.'

"Youkai can smell a mated pair, there is no need for a formal ceremony. A female will typically have her mate's mark about her, as a sign of acceptance."

"So it's true! I thought that was just a story put around by angry ningen! You're going to bite me on the neck and leave a scar!" Kagome was on her feet, backing away and holding her neck.

The inu-youkai was staring at her as though she had grown another head. "Kagome, sit. I am not going to attack you. The mark is my family crest, usually on a pendant or other piece of jewelry." 'If she wasn't so frightened that would have been quite humorous.'

"Really? You're not going to bite me?"

"I will not promise that. In a moment of lust I may very well bite you, but not to attack you or mark you."

Kagome eased back to her seat, sliding her hands away from her throat. "Well, that's not much worse than a hickie, I guess."

"Hickie?"

"Oh, um, that's when a guy kind of, sucks on your skin until you get a mark. Usually on the neck. It's silly."

'I will remember that.' Sesshomaru was now rather focused on Kagome's neck. The pulse was pounding, just beneath the surface. She was nervous.

"Um, Sesshomaru? Can I, kind of try this? Before I give you a final answer?"

"Try?"

The pulse kicked up another notch. "I want to stay, and be with you, but I still don't think I understand what's going on well enough to pledge forever. I just need a bit of time to think. I want to see what it's like, see if it's something that I can be happy with. Like you said, it is not a fairy tale."

"No, I am not Prince Charming."

Kagome giggled. "No, but you certainly aren't a wimp either."

"You can try. The final decision can be made later."

'I guess that means I'm engaged. Wow! Not how I thought that would go.' Kagome was now feeling rather shy. "Does this mean I'm staying in . . . here, now?"

Sesshomaru felt his body tense at her innocent question. "That would be part of the relationship, usually. It is not required as this is a trial period."

'Oh, Kami.' "Umm, would you like me to stay here tonight?"

There was no answer. Sesshomaru reached over the table and captured both of Kagome's hands, pulling them to him. He slowly trailed kisses across the palm of one hand, nibbling at her wrist. The pulse jumped just beneath her skin, her scent sharp with nervousness and excitement. He stood, moving to the other side of the table and pulling the miko against him.

Soft lips descended on Kagome's mouth, gently pressing her mouth open so that the interior could be ravaged. Arms locked behind her back, supporting her when she swayed. Electricity arced up her spine, making her whole body tingle as she pressed to her intended's body. His heavy clothes were making it hard for her to feel him. She growled with frustration, trying to find a tie to release that would let her hands feel his skin.

"Stop." Panting, Sesshomaru pulled Kagome's hands above her head and held her there. "We must . . ."

"If you stop right now, I swear I will grab whatever part of you I can and purify the hell out of it."

Startled eyes locked with Kagome's stubborn gaze. "I may not be able to stop."

Kagome growled at him, knowing he would never be able to resist that. "Good."

----

Much later in the night Kagome slowly relaxed her fingers so that she was no longer driving her nails into Sesshomaru's skin. She reached up for a gentle kiss. "Arigato, again."

Midnight hair was across her face. Sesshomaru pushed it away, sitting up slightly so he could focus on her. "You are unharmed?"

Surprisingly the miko giggled. "I should be asking you that, considering I just pulled my nails out of your skin."

A quick check revealed that he had eight little crescent marks across his shoulders, courtesy of Kagome's nails. Sesshomaru knew they would be gone within the hour, but he was still surprised to see them. "You have sharp nails for a ningen."

"Wait until you see the mark over here. It seems I have sharp teeth, too." A small bite mark was on the flawless shoulder, making Kagome blush. "I think I got a little carried away."

"As did I." A gentle hand brushed hair away from the bite mark he had left on her, just at where her neck flowed into her shoulder. There were two puncture marks, one for each of his fangs. It was not deep, and it was barely bleeding, but it was definitely there.

Kagome's hands went to her neck. "I guess that's fair. Too bad I don't heal as fast as you, though." She slid her hands up around his neck again. "It was wonderful."

"Hai." Sesshomaru pressed his face to her neck, savoring the smell of her combined with his own scent. She would smell like his mate now, and the other youkai would know. He did not care. She was brave enough and strong enough to stand with him, nothing else mattered. While he did not like ningen as a rule, this one defied all rules.

Reluctantly the youkai shifted to the top of the bed. He pulled Kagome with, settling back into the pillows with her pressed to his chest. Kagome pulled a blanket over them, happily snuggling into the crook of his arm. Sleep was coming up on the miko fast, exhausted from the day's events, and the events of the evening.

"Good night, Seshomaru."

"Good night, Kagome."

A silent thought echoed the spoken sentiment. 'Good night, my mate.'

The miko's breathing continued to slow, moving to the steady, deep rhythm of sleep. Sesshomaru held her against him, savoring the sensation of having her so relaxed with him. He was relieved that nothing had gone wrong. He had lost control, but she had still welcomed him, pulled him against her body, and called his name. For the most part she was unharmed. The bite had not been intentional, and at least it was not deep. Raising a hand to his own shoulder he felt the small bruise left from his new mate's teeth. 'I cannot be too ashamed at my behavior when she had the exact same response.'

Sleep was tugging at his mind, the soothing presence next to him forcing him to relax and stop questioning himself. There was much at stake, but there was no more energy to focus on worrying about it. His eyes drifted closed, sinking down into sleep.

----

Mirokou paced around the room, throwing glares at the door and Sango. "We cannot leave her alone with that monster. She is in danger."

Sango sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. "No, I don't think she is. You are, but I don't think she is."

"And why not?" Mirokou was standing in front of her, glaring again.

"I think Sesshomaru has chosen Kagome as his mate."

"That is impossible." Mirokou returned to his pacing. "He would never choose a ningen, especially one he hates as much as Kagome."

"I know what I saw, Mirokou. I studied youkai, remember? It is not really a choice for inu-youkai, and he is acting just like a newly mated male that is protecting his mate from another male. He did not attack until you touched her, remember?"

The memory of being thrown across the room played behind Mirokou eyes. "I have not forgotten."

"She is not in any serious danger from him. At least not physically. I don't know if Kagome knows what is going on. She seemed oblivious. She would not know that he won't even be able to control himself around her anymore. His blood wants her, and no other." Sango sighed, worrying about her friend's new complication.

"What kind of danger is she in, then?"

"If she does not want to stay with him he may get desperate. And he is going to have a hard time controlling himself around her, he may hurt her by accident. But he will not leave her, and he will not harm her on purpose. But I wonder if that is enough."

Mirokou was following her thought. "It does not mean that he loves her."

"No, it doesn't. She may be nothing more than a prized possession to him, the mother of his children. He does not have to love her at all. He won't hurt her physically, but emotionally there is no guarantee. I don't know what he feels, or thinks. I did not think he even had feelings up until now. Now I hope he does. For her sake."


	15. Her Choice

A/N: Nilee, I am going to run out of cookies in the near future because I am going to be giving them all to you. That was the whole point of Sango's brief appearance at the end. Shadow, I seriously considered bringing him back. I never did kill him off, technically. It's still an option, but I guess that will be up to you guys. Should Inuyasha miraculously put in an appearance? I'm still debating on Takanou's fate. And this chapter is a big one, don't know how that happened. Didn't plan on this being so big. Anyways, I own nothing, except the new boots I got for Christmas. Thanks Grandma!

"Kagome-chan, wake up!"

Patter of feet.

"Kagome-chan, up! Kagome-chan?"

More pattering of feet.

"Kagome-chan, are you hiding?"

'This does not bode well for my morning.' Sesshomaru slowly opened his eyes, perfectly aware of what was coming and yet powerless to do anything about it. The feet were pattering about in the next room as Rin searched for her Kagome-chan. Sighing, the youkai lord dragged himself to his feet, finding a robe before the interruptions began. Things would be getting very loud in the near future.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" The piercing shriek echoed through the palace, making anyone with ears as sensitive as a youkai's flinch in pain. Kagome lurched up in bed, staring about her wildly as she tried to figure out where she was.

"Sesshomaru-sama, Kagome-chan is gone! She's gone! She's been kidnapped! Rin must find her, help Rin!" The little ball of energy ignored all of her previous lessons about staying out of Sesshomaru's room in her panic, launching through the door and running for help.

"Rin. Stop."

Rin slipped to a stop, staring at her lord. "Sesshomaru-sama, where is Kagome-chan?" Following Sesshomaru's glance the little girl found the object of her hunt. "Kagome-chan!"

Kagome, for her part, was still trying to figure out what was going on. 'Where am I? This is not my room. Okay, don't panic. I'm in a bed. A really big bed. And I'm naked. I'm naked! Okay, moving on, Sesshomaru is here, staring at me, and Rin is shrieking and running around looking for me. I wasn't dreaming last night, was I? And breathe, girl, breathe.'

Oblivious to her beloved friend's panic, Rin was already jumping up on the bed. "Kagome-chan, why are you in here? Rin was worried."

Blushing and stammering was all Kagome could manage at that moment, pulling the covers up to her throat. "I . . I am coming, Rin, and we can get ready for breakfast. Umm, go find Kumo and tell her that I'm on my way."

"Hai, Kagome-chan!"

Slipping on the smooth floor Rin hurtled back out of the room, leaving the new couple in awkward silence. Sesshomaru was gazing at her with that blank stare, almost as though he did not notice the naked woman in his bed. Kagome, for her part, was trying to figure out how to get to the kimono she had been wearing the night before that was on the opposite side of the room. The blankets were very heavy, it would be hard to keep them wrapped around herself and make it across the room with any dignity at all. The choice was going with the blanket or trying to make a dart across the room and grab it, hoping that he would not get too much of an eyeful. Images of people streaking at graduation ceremonies popped into her frazzled mind.

'Maybe he'll be a gentleman and just look away.' "Sesshomaru-sama, could you please look the other way?"

'Back to titles, are we?' Without a word he turned away, allowing Kagome to slip across the room with some shred of her dignity intact. Having her clothes back gave her strength to face what was going on.

'Okay, evidently last night did happen. I did just sleep with the Lord of the Western Lands. That means that the whole mate conversation happened too. A little harder to cope with, so that will wait until after breakfast. Right now I am going to smile, say something nice, and run back to my room and hide like a little girl.' "Um, I'm going to go change for breakfast. See you there?"

Sesshomaru glanced back over his shoulder, looking down at the nervous woman. "Hai."

Kagome flashed him a quick smile, than got the heck out of there. Slipping into her own room and sliding the door got her away from those eyes and let her brain move from frozen panic back to bouncing about panic. Kumo and Rin were already there, waiting for her. Rin was, of course, curious about why Kagome was not in her room.

"Did Kagome-chan have a nightmare? Did you run to Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Sort of, jo-chan. Once your ready for breakfast you can escort our guests, okay? You'll be ready before me, and I would really appreciate it." Rin's reply was muffled as Kagome changed into the clothes that Kumo had laid out, but it must have been affirmative because the little girl was gone. 'Oh, poor Sango and Mirokou, they will never know what hit them. I am so evil.'

The little glances coming from Kumo were already more than she could stand. "Out with it, Kumo."

Kumo gasped and looked at the floor. "I am sorry, Kagome-sama, I meant no disrespect."

'I could do with a little less groveling. It makes getting answers so much harder.' Kagome rubbed the bridge of nose, getting the feeling that it was going to be a long day. "I can see that you want to ask, so ask. I'm not going to attack you or anything."

"There is nothing to ask." Seeing Kagome's confused glance, Kumo stuttered. "I can sense the answers on my own, it was just . . . unexpected."

'Sense? Oh, she means smell. I'm going to be getting this all day.' The rest of the morning routine passed in a blur as Kagome tried to keep that claustrophobic feeling away. 'All day, and for a couple of days after that any youkai I meet is going to be giving me those funny looks. Y_ou did what with our Lord of the Western Lands you undeserving wench? _looks. I really don't want to face that, it was tense enough here already, now I get to deal with this? What was I thinking! Oh yeah, that's right, I wasn't thinking. Not enough blood to the brain to be thinking. It seems all romantic, everyone can tell that you are a mated couple and completely committed to each other, but what if everyone who can tell hates you for it? No one should have to deal with a headache of this proportion before breakfast.'

"Kagome-sama? You should go down to your meal."

Flashing a thankful smile to Kumo, Kagome slowly made her way through the palace. She saw very few youkai, but she did see at least two of them give her a double take, and not of the friendly kind. Sliding into the dining hall felt like a victory, finally surrounded by her friends who would not be giving her those evil looks.

'No, these are different evil looks. What'd I do now?'

Mirokou and Sango were staring at her with strange, almost unhappy expressions. Rin was trying to stuff her breakfast into her mouth while using those manners that Kagome-chan insisted on. And Sesshmaru? Staring off into space, sipping his tea.

"Good morning, Mirokou and Sango. How was your night?" Kagome plastered on her best 'nothings wrong' smile and moved next to Rin.

"Peaceful, and yours?" Mirokou was staring at her, just flat out staring. Sango had her mouth hanging open, making Kagome want to sink into the floor.

"Fine, peaceful, nice." 'And now the blushing will start. What are they staring at? There is no way they can smell whatever the youkai are smelling.'

"Kagome-chan, how did you get cut? Did you get that in practice?" Rin was pointing at a small cut that could just barely be seen from the neck of her haori.

"Hmm? What cut?" A quick investigation showed that there was not one, but two little cuts, and some bruising around them. Two, on the side of her neck. 'Oh, Kami, I forgot about that hickie!' Kagome pulled the neck up higher, trying to hide the cut. "I'm not sure, jo-chan. It might have been from practice."

A quick glance confirmed that Sesshomaru was ignoring all of the occupants at the table, indulging in his favorite past time of staring at nothing. Kagome spared a glare for him before facing her friends. 'At least I know what they were staring at now.'

"Practice, you say?" Mirokou had managed to make those three words just about as lewd and suggestive as possible. Truly a talent that he had mastered over the years. Sango rolled her eyes, trying not to smack the monk with young Rin watching. After last night she was sure that Rin could not have her manners damaged any further, but Sango would try to contain herself. The monk would pay latter.

"We can discuss it later." Kagome could pull up a pretty good impression of Sesshomaru's cold, imperious voice when needed, and it had the desired effect. Her two friends let the conversation drop and focused on their breakfast. Sesshomaru spared a glance to Kagome, interested in the change of her voice, but returned to staring at nothing.

Rin, of course, was done before any of the adults. "Sesshomaru-sama, may Rin be excused?" A slight nod sent her hurtling off to her instructor, excited to begin learning those new weapons he had shown her.

"I suppose I should go with her. The Captain will not take kindly to my missing another practice. Considering the beating I usually take, I don't think I want him to be too mad at me. If you guys want you can come along, maybe? It may be boring to you, but I think I'm getting pretty good, and I would love to work with you, Sango."

A real smile finally appeared on her friend's face. "Sure, Kagome. I'll go change then meet you in the reception hall."

The statue at the head of the table had still not moved. "Sesshomaru-sama, may I be excused?"

For one moment their eyes met and she could feel that he was annoyed and agitated, but then it was gone. He nodded, expression blank. Kagome hesitated, wanting to know where those feelings had come from and why, but Sesshomaru was already up and leaving the room. Mirouku was next to her, waiting for her to join him on the walk to the reception hall. Fighting off the urge to chase the lord down and demand to know what was going on, she turned and led the monk away.

----

"My, my lord? Please forgive me, my lord, but your most humble servant would dare to ask one question." Jaken was a tiny ball on the floor, shaking as he groveled. The silence stretched out, the tension building as the tiny imp expected to be struck down or trampled at any moment. Finally, there was a reply.

"What."

"My lord, please, the servants are all talking, some of the lords have come to me and demanded to know the truth. My lord, is – is it true?"

'Why do I have such stupid vassals?' "Is what true?"

"The, the miko, my lord. Is it true that you have . . ." Jaken's whisper died away, knowing that he was going to die. His lord was staring at him, fingers twitching ever so slightly. Eyes screwed tight, Jaken waited for the final strike of Tokijin.

Silence dragged out. Jaken snuck a peek at his lord and found him sitting again, staring into space as though in deep thought.

'What should I tell the vassals? They will not like the idea of my taking a ningen, they will think that this is my father all over again. Is there something cursed with my bloodline? I will not worry about that now. Now I need to tell them something. They can smell me on her, but I cannot tell them that it is a bond, she may still decide to leave. She was very, unsure this morning. I should call this a preliminary. The word does not mean anything, but it will sound official enough to make them stop asking questions. They might as well get used to it, if I have anything to say about it she will not be leaving. And any that say she is too weak to be Lady of the Western Lands? Well, I suppose I could just let her deal with them. She is hard enough for me to deal with, I do not like to think what she would do to a youkai that really made her mad.'

A pleasant image of Kagome purifying some of the more annoying members of his court came to mind, improving Sesshomaru's mood.

"Tell them that this is a preliminary relationship. They would not be wise to anger her, though. Her ability to purify anything she touches makes her hard to handle when she is angered."

"Preliminary, my lord?"

One eyebrow lifted, and that was more than enough for Jaken. "Yes, my lord, right away, my lord. My apologies, my lord." Scuttling out backwards, the toad made a break for freedom, feeling rather like he had just been spared from execution.

"Jaken."

Frozen in the doorway, Jaken glanced at freedom, then groveled before his lord.

"There is an assignment for you. Take this to a craftsman and have it adjusted to fit a human of the miko's proportions." Sesshomaru was holding out a wood box, which Jaken carefully accepted.

Opening the box Jaken found a fabulous pendant in the shape of crescent moon. A blue stone flashed in the center, glowing as though it had it's own fire. The pendant was set on a long, heavy chain, inappropriate for a slight figure such as the miko but perfect for the pendant's original owner. "My lord? This is . . ."

"You will tell no one. This is an important assignment, trusted to you alone."

The toad looked up at his lord, pride shining in his eyes. "My lord, I will not fail you!"

Sesshomaru watched as Jaken scurried from the room, carrying the pendant as though it was the greatest treasure in Japan. 'Manipulating that one is too easy to even be interesting. However, he is the best choice, since he will know where to have the necklace adjusted and will be certain that the craftsmanship is perfect. Unfortunate that he recognized the pendant, but he will keep his silence. Jaken has no interest in dying.'

----

"Go, Rin, go!" Kagome cheered Rin on as she faced off with Sango. A glare from the Captain made her duck her head sheepishly, but she was still cheering for Rin in her mind. It was so surprising that the quiet, gentle girl had taken to fighting with such natural grace. Perhaps all of those years living in the woods and watching great battles had done some good after all.

Rin, for her part, seemed a little apprehensive. Facing off with her Sesshomaru-sama had been fun, facing the Captain was something she did almost everyday. This was a youkai exterminator! Sango stood waiting with a practice blade, letting the youngster make the first move. The youngster glanced to her instructor, nerves showing in her young eyes. A curt nod helped her to focus. The Captain wanted her to spar, so she would, and she would make him proud!

A far cry from her chaotic beginnings, Rin carefully circled Sango, forcing Sango to move at least a little. A small strike made Sango parry, letting Rin see what she would be facing. All of her training had made her aware that she was small, putting her at a disadvantage. She had to get within her opponent's range before she could attack. The emphasis had been on quick, tricky maneuvers. She had to close fast, strike, and get out. And acting like a scared little girl certainly did seem to help. Rin carefully wavered, looking indecisive. 'It worked on Captain that one time, maybe it will work on Sango.'

Sango relaxed a bit, the little girl in front of her looked nervous. "Come on, jo-chan, I'm not . . . hey!" Rin had lunged in while Sango's guard was down, slipping in and scoring a hit on her leg before whipping away. "Oh, Rin, now you're in for it."

Giggles were erupting from the sidelines. "Nice one, Rin, get her again!" Kagome was enjoying herself, having already been beaten senseless by Sango and Mirokou. It was nice to see someone finally get a hit in on Sango.

The youkai exterminator threw a glare over her shoulder. "You're next, miko!"

"Eep." 'Oh, that might not have been my best choice.'

Circling again, Sango was now aware of what she was dealing with. A little, quick, sneaky girl that knew more than she was letting on. 'I like her. Two can play this game.' She left a small opening. Not big enough to let the girl in on the trick, but enough she couldn't ignore. For a moment she thought that the girl was not going to take it, but then Rin was moving. The girl was quick, and she was going to be very good, but it was a trap. As Rin closed Sango moved forward, closing before Rin was ready. She slipped under Rin's sword, taking away Rin's advantage and letting the little girl run right into her opponent's blade. Startled eyes flicked up to Sango's, uncertain how she had run herself unto Sango's blade. "Speed is not going to win, jo-chan. You need to be willing to change your plan if your enemy moves."

Admiration was in Rin's eyes. "Can you show Rin how to do that better?"

'For that matter, can you show me how to do that?' Kagome was restlessly spinning her staff on the sidelines, watching as Sango taught Rin some new tricks. 'That little girl is going to be kicking my butt in the near future.' Her senses picked up a presence near the doorway. 'Sesshomaru.'

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the lord looking in on the activity, then brushing out again. She could still pick up agitation on him, now coupled with some worry. This time she was not going to let him get away, she wanted to know what was upsetting him so much. "Mirouku, I'll be right back."

She followed her senses, tracking the lord through the palace. The occasional dark glare was shot her way, making her skin crawl. She found Sesshomaru in an office, behind a pile of paperwork and glaring at a groveling figure. His eyes flicked up to hers, raising an eyebrow, then returned to the cowering servant before him. "Out."

Kagome was not sure if he was talking to her or the servant, but since the servant when scuttling out she felt fairly safe staying. She slid the door shut behind the servant, not in the mood to have anymore youkai glaring at her. "Sesshomaru-sama. . ."

The cold glare was certainly making it hard to concentrate. Kagome wet her lips to try again. "Um, Sesshomaru-sama, what is wrong?"

"Why are you calling me that?"

'Man, I just cannot read him! Trying to be respectful so he will calm down, and he looks like he's about to come over that desk and shred me.' "I was trying to be respectful."

"You are not supposed to be using my title when speaking to me, remember?"

"You seemed agitated. I did not want to upset you further."

That earned her a sigh. Fingers went to the youkai's temples, trying to rub the sources of irritation out of existence. "You are not the direct source of my agitation."

"Well, that's a relief. I don't suppose I can help?"

"I do not believe so. The nature of our relationship has caused some difficulties."

"No kidding, I've been getting some pretty nasty looks."

An angry glare struck her. "Who would dare?"

'Oh, damn, poking the angry youkai again.' "No one in particular, just some glances, I don't know who they are."

The mask was firmly in place, leaving the same indifferent figure behind the desk. "It is seen as a weakness to take a ningen as a mate. There will be whispers behind closed doors. However, I do not think that the situation will digress too much further. I will not follow my father's mistake, taking a foolish but beautiful female that can do little other than look pretty."

'I think that was a compliment, in there, somewhere.' Kagome finally settled onto a cushion in front of his desk. "It will be difficult to convince anyone that I'm different. I certainly do not look different."

"But you are different. Any member of the court can tell that you are a miko. And any that question you, I give you full permission to purify whatever parts you find to be most displeasing. That should stop the growling."

Kagome could not help giggling. "You seem far to eager for me to start burning my way through your court."

"I will admit that the image of you burning holes in several of the lords and ladies has been quite pleasant." One corner of the youkai's mouth quirked up, almost a smile.

The jokes seemed to be doing their job, the agitation was easing out of Sesshomaru. "I should let you get back to work, then. I will try to not burn through your court while you are working."

"Kagome."

The miko turned to face him, curiosity written across her open expression. It was so easy for her to be open with others. Sesshomaru wondered if she could ever hide herself away from anyone. "This morning, you were very uneasy. Why?"

'I should stop blushing at some point. Honestly.' "I could not remember where I was, at first. Then I could, and Rin was there, and I was, well, undressed under the blanket. And I knew that Kumo would know, and Rin wanted to know what I had been doing, and I have never woken up naked in a strange place . . ."

"That is a relief."

Glare. "It was not a typical morning. And I'm still trying to work through all of the stuff that happened last night."

"Such as."

"Such as?" Kagome's glare sharpened. "Such as being told that your blood has picked me for a life long mate, and that you want me to stay here as your mate, oh, and the whole sleeping together thing."

"Have you changed your mind?"

Silence stretched out. Sesshomaru's face revealed nothing, but Kagome could feel the tension beneath the surface.

"No, I have not." Kagome had the overwhelming urge to reach out and touch him, but it seemed inappropriate. He was at work, after all. "I really should let you work, though. I will see you tonight."

Sesshomaru watched her go out, his eyes gazing at the door after she had left.

"Come out. You have been found."

After a moment a wizened old cricket of a demon moved into the room. "My lord, I do not know if I completely agree with taking a ningen, but the idea of her burning her way through the court is quite appealing."

"You do know that it is only because you have been a trusted advisor to both my father and myself that you are not dead now."

"Come now, pup, I am only looking out for Inutaisho's heir. An unacceptable mate would cause chaos. You will have your hands full as it is, since your offspring would by hanyou. However, she is certainly fiery. A strong female, and she should be able to produce strong offspring."

"Then you believe that the other lords will accept her?"

The old youkai heaved a sigh. "It will take some convincing. She may have to follow through on that burning threat. At least in the beginning, since she is going to have to prove her dominance. Her reputation will help her, the defeat of Naraku will give her some weight with the lords."

"Will they try to kill her?"

"You know that some will try. If she is killed now, before the bond is at full strength, then there is a chance that another mate can be chosen for you. If they wait, then it will not matter whether or not they kill her. Now is when they will move against her. Any who find her unacceptable, or who believe that they can provide a better mate from their own families, will be tempted to remove her while there is still a chance."

"Then she will be protected."

"Pup, she will need to protect herself as well. There is no such thing as an impenetrable fortress, she will need to be able to protect herself if she is to be your mate. If you do not think she can do this, stop now while there is still a chance. Make up your mind."

The advisor slipped out, leaving Sesshomaru to consider his options. Keep Kagome with him, putting her in danger, or send her away and feel as though he had lost a much bigger part of himself than an arm. He grimaced. Knowing Kagome, it was not even going to be his choice. She would make up her mind, and no creature on this planet would be able to change it.


	16. The Gamble

A/N: Yeah, Sesshy is kind of confusing now. Poor thing, half of him detests humans, and the other half has picked one to be his life long companion. I'd get a headache too. Kagome is not going to be put through any kind of a formal test, but she is going to be watched an evaluated by everyone that has a shot at her. And plenty of critters want her dead, but she's used to that. -grin- Nilee, he'll deal with that one later. I can assure everyone that Kagome will not become a demon of any kind. She is scary enough as is. Aside from the new boots, and Kumo, I own nothing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, come on. You cannot really expect me to tell you everything!"

Kagome and Sango were back in the hot spring, enjoying a long soak. Kumo had already left the girls, letting them have some privacy in the springs. Sango was giving Kagome the third degree.

"Kagome, I'm not asking for everything, I just want to know how you went from 'just a few kisses' to a bite mark on your neck. You can leave some of it out."

'This is definitely the downside to having your friends help you with boy trouble, they ask too many questions.' "It just sort of happened. After you took Mirokou away we went for a walk outside with Rin. Rin was tucked into bed, then we had some tea and talked. Then . . ."

Sango was shaking her head. "What could he have possibly said that would make you do something like that?"

_It seems that my blood has chosen you as my mate. _

A soft sigh escaped from the miko. "Mate."

"He said that! I thought that might be what was going on. That explains the way he was behaving last night, knocking Mirokou across the room and not letting you go." Sango felt just a little victorious for being right in her argument with the monk, but she was more concerned for her friend. "And? What did you say back?"

"I said that I would stay and see if this worked for me. It's not romantic or a wild tale about true love. Heck, he said that love was not even considered in this kind of a thing. But it does mean that he will want me and will never change his mind. I'll have a home, and someone who will care for me, and I'll have Rin. I do care about him, and I want to be with him. I just . . ."

"You want more."

Misery was practically oozing out of the young woman as she sank down to her chin in the hot water. "I'm being pretty selfish. It's a good thing that the jewel is gone, so I don't have to worry so much about selfish thoughts and being pure enough. This is more than many people ever get a shot at, and I'm not sure I want it."

'I am going to need to take this one into my own hands. I will not let him trap her.' Sango pushed her friend's hair out of her eyes. "Kagome, you know it is a choice. You can choose to leave. You would always be welcome with me and Mirokou."

A weak smile appeared on Kagome's mouth. "I know. It's hard to think of it as a choice, though, when I know that he is trapped. If I leave, he will be alone. I don't know if there is a way for him to find someone else."

"Sometimes. If a couple is separated early enough in the relationship they can sometimes bond with someone else. The earlier they are separated the better, though, so if you want to leave you would want to do it as early as possible. Remember, you are going to get pulled into this, too. It will not be just Sesshomaru that will not be able to find another if you wait."

"So, basically, I need to make up my damn mind." Kagome scowled at the water, not having anything more appropriate to scowl at. 'Damn it all to hell. Why? What deity have I pissed off to make this happen? And I sound like Inuyasha. I never swore before I spent time with him. Oh, Kami, why does it still hurt to think about him? If I stay here, I will never be second best or replaced again. But he will not love me. Is that a fair trade?'

Water splashed as Kagome launched herself out of the water. "Unfair!" Snatching a towel off of a bench she started to vigorously dry herself off. "This is just unfair! I shouldn't have to choose something like this. I envy Sesshomaru, he didn't have a choice."

"Really? Do you really? Would you rather have your body just pick someone for you, without concern for whether or not you get along with them, or if they even want you? I pity him. He can't say anything in the matter, and you can just leave. If you were another inu-youkai you would be just as stuck as he is, but you're not. If I thought he was capable of it, I would think that he would be very worried, maybe a little bit scared."

"Scared? Are you talking about the same youkai as me?" Hanging upside down and drying her hair made Kagome stop talking for a moment, giving her a chance to think. A memory surfaced, making her throat tighten. Her voice dropped, so soft that Sango could barely hear her. "He is worried, though. I felt that today. There are youkai that are going to try to drive me off, and he's worried that it will work."

"Worried? You felt that? Kagome, you've started picking up on his feelings?" Sango was now very worried. 'If she is picking up on his feelings it may already be too late. And who knew that bastard had feelings for her to figure out?'

Lost in her own thoughts Kagome just nodded at Sango, not particularly worried about that aspect of the relationship. The youkai exterminator pulled herself out of the water, grabbing her own towel to dry off. "Please, Kagome, we need to figure out what is best for you. Think about it tonight. Tomorrow we can talk, and maybe we can figure out what you want."

'What I want? What about Sesshomaru? Doesn't he figure in?' Kagome simply nodded to her friend, already pondering the heavy thoughts. 'This is going to suck. I already have a headache, and the night is still young. I'm glad we already ate, I am not going to have an appetite for awhile if I get an all out migraine.'

The two friends wandered back to their own rooms. Kagome sat in silence as Kumo went through the nightly ritual of brushing and braiding her hair, then was left alone. Looking out the window she could see Sesshomaru watching over Rin in the courtyard. The little girl was hanging upside down in the tree, giggling so loudly that Kagome could hear her. The youkai lord was sitting on a bench, watching over her with a blank expression. The moon was just past full, providing plenty of light and bathing Sesshomaru in a silver glow. There was no question of his origin, he was far to beautiful and perfect to be human. The breeze tossed his silver hair into waves, drifting almost to the ground. His markings stood out sharply in the pale light, making his skin seem just that much lighter. He looked like a porcelain doll, far too perfect to be real. Or maybe an angel.

'Angel. Yeah, right. He is not Prince Charming, and he is definitely not an angel. But he is beautiful. If only I were shallow enough to not care past that. Or to not care past the lust and passion. No, of course not, I want to know that he feels something for me. I want to know that it is not just some trick of nature, forcing him to choose me. I can't be content with a gorgeous male who can do some pretty amazing things to my body and who will be devoted to me the rest of my life. Baka.'

The soft breeze was tossing the small tendrils of hair that had escaped her braid around her face. 'Now there is an interesting problem. How could this perfect creature ever be content with me? I am always slipping, or falling, or almost getting myself killed. How could I be the Lady of the Western Lands? I would need to stand up to all of those youkai lords that hate me. I would need to be a strong, confident partner that could stand on my own. Yeah, right. I don't know what his blood was thinking. I can barely stand up to Rin. I'll talk to him tonight. He stands a chance of finding someone more appropriate if I leave right away. He'll be relieved, then he will have a chance to pick a youkai to be the Lady.'

Decision made, Kagome turned away from the window and moved to her own bed. She would leave the next morning with Mirokou and Sango. Sesshomaru would be able to sever the relationship, hopefully. Either way, she would be out of his hair. 'Then why am I crying?'

Her hands found wetness on her cheeks. She lifted her damp fingertips, staring at them as thought they were not her own. 'Why? What is there for me here?'

'Him.'

A hard knot formed in her chest. 'Yeah, him. But 'him' doesn't want me. I will not be a pet, or a tool, or a broodmare! I can leave. I don't have to run the risk of being trapped her.'

'But you want to be here.'

'Shut up! I can't! The only thing I have left is the idea that I am my own person! I have already lost so much, I can't lose anything else!'

'Do you really think he would hurt you?'

Groan. 'Not on purpose. But he doesn't understand. He's not human.'

'Do you trust him?'

"With my life." Kagome's soft whisper was directed towards the youkai she could see in the courtyard. "I would trust him with my life."

'Stay with him.'

'Be quiet.'

Her eyes followed Sesshomaru as he collected Rin from the courtyard, bringing her back into the safety of the palace. A little sigh slipped out of her body, her choices pressing against her. 'I thought that I had nothing left to lose. Turns out I have just one thing left. Shall I gamble it all, double or nothing, or should I fold?'

Kagome was still gazing out the window when her door opened, letting the subject of her heavy thoughts into her room. He was watching her, almost as though trying to gauge her mood. His step was almost wary as he crossed the floor, coming to stand behind her.

"Kagome."

A small, shuddering breath was all the reply the youkai received. He lifted his hand, gently setting it on her shoulder. He could feel her trembling, could smell unshed tears. He could feel pain from her, but not of the physical kind. "Tell me."

"I'm lost, Sesshomaru. I have to choose whether or not to risk the only thing I have left. Do I stay here, and risk it all, or do I run while I still can?"

Kagome could hear a small catch in the breathing behind her. She turned her head, looking back at the youkai.

"I do not know what advice to offer." Sesshomaru laid his other hand on her shoulders, squeezing her gently. "I am too close to the problem."

"Tell me. What do you want? Not what your body wants, what do you want?" Kagome turned her head back to the window, closing her eyes. 'I will know if he lies.'

A deep breath ruffled Kagome's hair, bringing the scent of her to the youkai with such force that he felt dizzy. Any thought of another female as his lady vanished like fog under the sun. "You. I want you, and I want you to stay here."

'No lies. He did not lie.' Kagome shivered, feeling her fate closing in on her. "Why?"

The arms on her shoulders slipped around her, pulling her to rest against the warm, powerful body behind her. "A difficult question. You do not fear me, or desire my position. You speak to me in a way that no one else would dare. This is something I have never experienced before. Because you want to know what I am thinking, and I want to know what you are thinking. You are not content to be on the outside, you will insist on knowing all. Despite my unease, I believe that I wish for the same as you."

"Will you . . . ever . . .?"

"You are asking of love." Silver hair cascaded around the miko as he lowered his head to hers, resting his forehead against her hair. "I do not know if I understand this concept. Is it possible that I could experience it and not know what it is?"

Kagome worried her bottom lip, turning the idea over in her head. "Yes, I believe that a person can love another without even realizing it."

"Then I believe that it is very likely. If I understand the idea, you would be very easy to love. You will need to tell me, however, when that has occurred."

'Damn arrogant bastard, I do believe he is teasing me.' A quick slap on the youkai's arm made Kagome feel better. "Hey, don't joke about that! I'm serious!"

"As am I. I fully expect you to keep me abreast of developments of that sort." Watching the miko change colors and give him a furious scowl was becoming one of the high points of Sesshomaru's day.

Struggling in the youkai's grasp was not getting Kagome anywhere, he was just too strong. "Don't make me do anything drastic, there. Your court lords are not the only people I can burn."

Hot breath washed over her ear. "I do not think that you want away from me that badly."

Pulse and breathing both jumped up a notch at the suggestive tone in the youkai's voice. "What makes you so sure of that?"

"You have not burned me yet."

'Damn, he's got me on that one.' Kagome went still, resting against his chest. "Sesshomaru, are the lords really going to try and drive me away?"

Silence echoed back to her. Sesshomaru had gone very still, his grip around her tightening slightly. "I will be honest with you, since you deserve to know all. They will try to kill you."

"Kill! Who said anything about killing me! What did I do this time!"

"Calm. If you are killed now, while the relationship is still young, then there is a chance that a different mate can be found. Any that find you unacceptable may consider your removal. It is a concern anytime a lord takes a mate, but it is truly a problem when the mate is a ningen."

"Oh, great, your people are now going to try and kill me. How long is this going to keep up?"

"A month, maybe two. After that there is no point in killing you."

"Oh, well, that's a relief." Kagome crossed her arms, agitation making her aura flare. Sesshomaru hissed and drew back, not enjoying the prickling sensation that came with the surge in power. Kagome gave him a blank look, then realized what she was doing and let her aura fade away. She looked down at the floor, trying to hide a tiny, wicked smile. "Sorry."

"Yes, I can see that." Sesshomaru stayed back, not wanting to get caught in another temper flare. "I will be ensuring your safety. Any that may not be loyal will be moved away from you. You are already under guard from Takanou . . ."

"And your guards may be trying to kill me now. It does not have to be a great and powerful lord, a guard that is upset by your choice can do something drastic about it."

The youkai froze, suddenly realizing the dangerous situation they were in. "Perhaps you should consider leaving. I cannot guarantee your safety." The old advisor's words were haunting him.

_Pup, she will need to protect herself as well. There is no such thing as an impenetrable fortress, she will need to be able to protect herself if she is to be your mate._

Kagome gaped at him, unable to believe how quickly he had changed his plans. "Is that all it takes to make you change your mind about me? A couple of people want me dead and you are ready to toss me aside? That was quick!" Kagome was marching across her room, heading for her closet. "Fine, then, I'll be gone by morning. I will not inconvenience you anymore, my lord!"

A snarl was Kagome's warning, making her whip around as Sesshomaru launched across the room, grabbing her.

"No! I will not give you up." His eyes were still amber, but the edges were red, hinting at the urges he was fighting down.

"Make up your damn mind! One minute you are all about me staying, then you are telling me to leave! I will not sit here and risk being killed or trapped for the sake of someone who may not even want me!"

His mouth was on hers, his arms crushing her to his body. Her arms came up, pulling his shoulders so that she could press to him, trying to become one with him. When they finally broke apart, panting, tears were running down Kagome's cheeks.

"Unfair. Quit toying with me. I'm not a servant to be pushed about, a toy for your amusement, a weapon to use against your enemies, or a broodmare! I'm Kagome, and that's the last thing I have! Don't you dare try to take that from me! I have given up everything else, but I won't give this up! Tell me now, yes or no. Do you want me? Not the miko, not the chosen mate, not the weapon, just me?"

Still trying to catch his breath, Sesshomaru stared at the female in front of him. "Will you stay, even though I cannot protect you?"

"I'll take care of my damn self, now answer the question, yes or no!"

"Yes."

Kagome wavered, emotions fighting for control and overwhelming her mind. Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around her, steadying her. He nuzzled into her hair, savoring her. "Stay, Kagome."

"I'll stay, Sesshomaru. I'll stay." Kagome's eyes slid closed, resting her head against his shoulder as her fate locked into place. 'What's one more gamble at this point? Double or nothing, everything is on the table. After all, I trust him with my life. Might as well go for broke.'

She was swept up into his arms, her mind spinning as he carried her out of her room and into his. Setting her down by the bed he untied her robe, leaving her in the simple yukata that she slept in. To Kagome's shock, he tucked her into bed still dressed. She kept her eyes on her blanket as he moved about the room, putting out lamps and removing clothes. He slid in next to her, still wearing a hakama. His arms pulled the miko to him, pressing her against his chest and holding her. Kagome's muscles screamed of tension, her whole body tight and nervous.

"Kagome, relax. Sleep."

'Sleep? That's it? He's not going to do . . . anything to me? He just wants me to sleep in here?'

"You need to sleep. Just relax, I will be here."

'Huh, that's a very comforting thought. Who'd have guessed? And it's really nice to just lie here, feeling all warm and safe. Yeah, I could live like this.' Kagome's thoughts trailed off as her body realized that it was finally free to shut down and recover from the day's excitement.

Sesshomaru lay next to her, feeling her heartbeat against his chest and listening to her breathing. 'She will stay. She has said so, and she would never go against her word. Now I will protect her. It is my duty and honor to defend her, to keep her safe. She is right, that there will be enemies at every turn now. Her lessons are no longer a game to keep her and Rin amused. I will speak to the Captain tomorrow. He is trust worthy, and would never betray his students. If the miko must defend herself, then she will be prepared. I pity the poor creature that truly angers her, we may not find enough pieces to determine the identity.'


	17. Bottom Line

A/N: Can I just mention how much I love you guys? Really. And that's not just the alcohol talking. Homework is so much easier with a little vanilla Bacardi in your soda. Anyways, here is to the 10,000 hits mark. Yea! We are over halfway there, but don't panic. You know I always have another surprise up my sleeve. Anyways, nothing has changed in the last twenty four hours. I hold no power here.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Foot steps outside of the door. Pacing, hunting. He could smell the youkai exterminator outside, could taste her agitation. She was pacing up and down the hall, probably waiting for her friend to come out. Her friend was still curled up, sound asleep in his bed. Protective urges prompted Sesshomaru to stand and dress. He would send the friend back to her room until a more reasonable hour. Rin was not up, so nobody sensible was up. Slipping out into the hall he stared at the female. The female was in her armor, a sword at her hip and her boomerang at her back. He felt his muscles tense, trying to guess her intentions.

"Sesshomaru-sama, I would speak with you." Sango was glaring at him, her hand tightening it's grip on her weapon.

"Not here. Kagome needs to rest."

"Then outside." The exterminator turned on her heel, marching out to the courtyard and onward through the gardens. Sesshomaru followed, not liking where this was going. He knew he could not kill one of Kagome's friends, she would be most upset, but this Sango looked ready to start a battle.

Out in the gardens, Sango spun to face the youkai. "You need to let her go. You cannot be what she needs, and you have no right to keep her here. If she leaves now you can find an appropriate mate."

'I am sick of this argument.' "She is not being kept against her will. She has chosen to stay here."

"It's a mistake and you know it!" Sango was moving into a defensive stance, glaring at her opponent. "You can send her away. She will be killed, or she is going to fade away because you cannot feel the same for her as she does for you!"

"You know nothing about this Sesshomaru!" The roar that exploded from him caught both by surprise. Even the youkai was surprised at the force of his anger on the matter. Deep breaths helped to bring his rage under control. When he spoke again his voice was even and deadly. "Do not lecture when you do not know what you are talking about."

"I will kill you before I let you destroy her and turn her into a shell of what she is now." Sango was lifting her weapon, taking aim. "If you care for her you will give her up, for her own sake."

"She stays. It is her choice." Sesshomaru's hand strayed to the hilt of Tokijin. He would defend himself. The foolish ningen in front of him would not be killed, but she would not be leaving unscathed either.

"Damn you, youkai." Sango snapped her arm back, then released. Sesshomaru darted to the side, drawing Tokijin. The two faced off again in the first rays of the dawn. The youkai prepared to charge.

A pink shimmer appeared around both of the combatants, keeping them away from each other.

"What the hell are you two doing!"

----

Kagome woke up in the huge bed by herself. The bed next to her was still warm, so Sesshomaru must have just left. She stretched, trying to figure out why anyone would be out of bed at this insane hour. 'I wonder what he's up to?'

Relaxing and reaching out, Kagome tracked down the youkai, finding him moving through the courtyard and into the gardens. And he was pissed at someone. Who was with him?

'Oh, Kami, what are they doing?' Kagome launched into her own room, snatching a haori and hakama out of the closet, and running down the hall. The guards in the hall looked at each other as the miko streaked by in mismatched clothes and unbrushed hair, then gave chase. She was not supposed to be alone. The guards at the courtyard blocked her path, she was not supposed to go outside.

"Get out of my way!" Kagome lunged forward, grabbing the arm of each of the guards and giving them each a nasty burn. The guards fell back, clearing a path for the enraged miko. She ran through the courtyard, the guards chasing her. She followed her senses through the gardens to where Sesshomaru and Sango were arguing. She could hear voices up ahead.

"You know nothing about this Sesshomaru!"

'He's going to kill her. He is furious, and he is going to kill her. Sango, what are you doing?'

Coming around the bend she could see the two fighting. Sesshomaru had drawn Tokijin and was dodging Sango's attack. The two stopped, squaring off again. The light gleamed off of their weapons as the sun appeared over the horizon. If she did not stop them somebody was going to get hurt, or killed. She threw up a barrier around each of them, forcing them to stop this idiot behavior.

"What the hell are you two doing!"

Kagome stormed across the grass, several guards following her and begging her to come back inside the palace. The two burned guards were in the back, trying to stay away from her but still desperate to get her back inside safely. The two combatants stared at her as she glared at them, her hands on her hips.

"Well? What are you two doing?"

"Um, well, we were . . ." Sango trailed off into silence.

"It was a discussion on your wishes." Sesshomaru looked like he was discussing the weather, but Kagome knew that he was just this side of losing it. First, attacked by Sango. Now he was trapped in a barrier, and that was making him very upset.

'Better make this quick, before he goes ballistic.'

"If I drop these barriers will you two stop fighting long enough to tell me what's going on?"

"Hai, Kagome-chan." Sango was staring at the ground, looking very guilty.

A slight nod was Sesshomaru's answer.

Kagome let the two barriers dissolve. Sesshomaru was glaring at her, fury in every line. 'He thinks that was a play for dominance, and in front of the guards. Think quick, girl, before he starts slaughtering people!' She eased towards him, eyes down and looking submissive. She tipped her head over, exposing her neck as she drew within reach. "Sesshomaru . . ."

He grabbed her, dragging her close with one arm. "That was not a good idea." His voice was a whisper, and she could feel the prick of claws through her sleeve. Kagome pressed herself against his chest, looking down.

"Sorry, Sesshomaru."

Tension eased as Sesshomaru slowed his breathing. Still whispering, he looked down at the small miko. "An understandable decision, even if it was not a good one. I was not going to kill her."

Kagome looked up at him with a smile. "I know, I didn't want her to hurt you either."

"Baka. Impossible."

Glaring up at him, Kagome choked down a smile. "Don't call me that." She turned away, facing Sango now. "Okay, Sango, what's going on?"

Sango was still staring at the ground. "I wanted to make sure that you would be allowed to leave. I did not think that he would let you leave, so I was going to . . ."

"You were going to rescue me." Behind her the inu-youkai growled, but Kagome sighed. "Sango, really, it's okay. It seems that everyone is trying to 'save' me from him, but I don't want to go anywhere. Really, I don't. Would you like to go inside and talk about this?"

A small nod, then Sango was moving back to the palace. Kagome looked to Sesshomaru, then fell in step along side him as they moved back to the palace. The very confused guard fanned out behind them, escorting them back up to the palace.

"You do know that your clothing does not match, and is not on correctly." The whisper was so quiet that she almost missed it. Sesshomaru was looking down at her with a hint of a smile.

Kagome blushed and whispered back. "Hey, you get dressed as fast as I did in the dark and lets see how you do."

"I did quite well, I believe."

"You have more practice."

"You did an excellent job with the guards. I believe that you will have no difficulty with this group from now on." Sesshomaru glanced at his guards, who were eyeing both of them with equal anxiety.

"Idiots. I told them to get out of the way." Kagome crossed her arms, refusing to feel bad. "Next time they'll know better."

"That is the point. I do not think that they will mistake you for a weak creature ever again. I could have done without being part of your demonstration, though." A small growl rumbled through him at the last.

Flinching and looking down, Kagome backpedaled. "It was an instinctive thing, I didn't have time to look at what was going on, I just knew I wanted both of you to stop. I did not mean to upset you."

"Kagome."

The miko looked up at him, worry in her eyes.

"You did well. I did not like it, but it was the correct response."

Relief flooded through her and she was able to breathe again. "Arigato, Sesshomaru."

"I think that I, as well as the guards, would do well to remember what you are. It was interesting to be stopped like that, and by a female in mismatched clothing."

That earned him another glare.

----

"Okay, Sango and Mirokou, this is the bottom line: I want to stay. I talked to him last night, we have come to an agreement, and I want to stay. It is not his idea, he actually told me to leave at one point. Jerk. But we have settled on my staying."

Mirokou actually looked pretty good with the idea. He had always liked happy endings when couples get together, and he hated to see Kagome alone. Sango looked more leery of the idea.

"Out with it, Sango, what's your concern?"

Sango looked over to Sesshomaru, who did not look like he was paying the slightest bit of attention. Rin certainly was, though. Kagome was staying!

"Kagome-chan, are you sure? You did just have your heart broken."

Surprisingly, Kagome giggled. "You know, I thought of that. I don't think this is a rebound relationship. I didn't really have a relationship with Inuyasha anyways, so I don't know if I can rebound from that."

There was a quiet growl from the bored looking youkai, but Kagome ignored it.

"Sango, I really want you to understand. You are my closest friend, as close as a sister. Can you believe that this is actually what I want?"

The youkai exterminator gazed at her, then looked to Sesshomaru. "Yes, I can believe that you would want this. You know I'm going to worry about you, no matter what. You are going to be in danger, with enemies everywhere. And how many times has he tried to kill you? Of course I'm going to worry about you. But, I'm going to trust you. Only you can tell me what you want, and you seem to know him." That got another low growl from the head of the table. "If this is your wish, then I am happy for you and I won't interfere anymore."

Kagome and Sango grabbed each other in a hug, giggling, much to the embarrassment of the males in the room. Mirokou was scrambling for a conversation topic with Sesshomaru. "So, Sesshomaru-sama, how have things been on your lands?"

"Considerably more peaceful than things in this house."

"Ah, aha." Mirokou decided that was enough small talk and concentrated on his breakfast.

"Kagome-chan, you are staying?" Rin's eyes were shining with excitement, almost afraid to ask for fear that she had misunderstood.

"Hai, jo-chan, I'm staying here. Somebody has to finish teaching you how to write."

Sesshomaru sipped his tea, a small voice wishing for some of the peace he had enjoyed in the past, before all of these ningen had invaded his home. But it seemed a small price to pay for the one ningen that was smiling at him with her perfect eyes.

----

"Captain, a word while your students practice."

"Hai, my lord. You two, practice together. Take it easy on the miko, Rin."

The Captain followed his lord to the hallway, listening to his students as they sparred together. He did not even have to turn around to know that the miko had been thinking too much again and had not moved quickly enough. Without turning around he boomed, "Damn it, miko, quit debating and fight already!"

In the hallway Sesshomaru watched the two fight for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"You are loyal to me, and the miko."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama, to the death."

"She is in danger. Already some are planning to remove her. Even with guards all about her. . . "

"The miko must defend herself. I understand, my lord." The Captain paused, watching the two. "She tries hard, and has some talent, but it is never going to be as natural for her as it is for the girl. That one, she will be a fighter to be reckoned with some day." Obvious pride showed on the Captain's face as he watched his new protégé.

"Captain."

"Apologies, my lord. The miko can learn more to defend herself, but she will be better served by her powers as a miko. She will be good enough with a sword to stop one or two attackers, but if she is in a dire situation, she will need more than some skill with a sword. I will work with her, help her to learn self defense. The powers, that she must do on her own unless we can find a teacher for her."

"Another miko is a risk, since the loyalties may lie elsewhere." Sesshomaru was watching the fighters. His Rin was pushing the miko back again. "We will see what she can do on her own. If the situation looks to be dire, then perhaps a teacher will be arranged."

"A loyal miko does make a powerful ally. I would certainly hesitate before annoying her. I saw the burns on those guards that did not get out of her way."

"Hai." Sesshomaru continued down the hall, leaving the Captain to deal with his students.

"Hold!"

The students froze, eyes turning to their instructor. "Rin, quit picking on the miko. I'll work with you in a moment. Miko, you are going to be changing tactics a bit. A little self defense work seems to be in order."

Kagome sighed. "Hai. I seem to have gotten myself into trouble."

"Don't start that female melodrama on me now. You are in a fight for dominance, to say nothing about your life. Quit your moping and do something about it!"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, we are going to replace that sword with something a little bit more appropriate for what I have in mind." The Captain handed her a dagger. "Easier to conceal, easier to use in a closed place, and just as good for killing things. It's not like we were getting anywhere with that sword, anyways. I want you to be tricky, nasty, and dirty. Leave the pretty stuff to Rin. I'm going to assume that if you have made it to the point where you are fighting hand to hand that things are in bad shape. If you get a shot to purify them, do it! Don't waste your time trying to overpower someone with your bare hands, it isn't going to happen. Now, you are going to learn some very dirty tricks to make them wish they had never been born."

"Yes, sir."


	18. The First Attempt

A/N: I'm glad you like the Captain, because he's going to stick around for a bit. Kagome's not going to become a supermiko or anything, she's going to have to survive off of her brains. Sorry, Nilee, I wanted Kagome to break it up before there were any hard feelings. Sorry about the mushy bit, but I am a sucker for them. It is Sesshy, though, so there are not very many. Anyways, on with the three ring circus. I don't own anything. If anyone has any good plots to take over the world and are looking for a sidekick, give me a ring.

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"What part of 'going to die' do you not understand!"

The Captain was glaring at Kagome who was flat out on the floor, again. Kagome glared up at him, her temper just about at the breaking point.

"I understand just fine! Understanding it doesn't mean my body is going to get any faster!" Slowly, painfully, the miko climbed back to her feet. "You can bellow till your head explodes, I'm trying as hard as I can!"

"It is not good enough. Sooner or later an assassin is going to make it through the guards and you will have to deal with it yourself. If this is all you've got, you'll be heading off to the next life well ahead of schedule."

'This has been going on for a week. Every time I think I have something figured out he changes and I'm back to square one. I would really like to hurt him right about now.' Kagome brought her breathing under control, forcing her aching body to begin the dance again. "You have no idea how much I'd love to get my hands on you right now."

"Good. Quit threatening and do it, then. Unless you would like me to show you a few more ways you can hit the floor."

The aura around the miko snapped to life. She shifted her grip on her small dagger, completely ticked off. "Fine. This is your fault." She feinted to the right, then dove straight in. The dagger was not her attacking weapon, though. She reached out with her left hand, grabbing his sword arm with her bare hand. She intended to burn him, but the attack knocked him off his feet, tossing him back and sprawling him out on the floor. The smell of burning cloth filled the room as the Captain let out a groan.

'Oh, Kami, I killed him!' Kagome ran to her instructor, checking his injuries. Sure enough, he had a burn on his arm, but no worse than the ones that Sesshomaru had received in her early bouts with him. It seemed as if the energy had been spent throwing him rather than burning him. 'How did I do that one?'

"Much better, miko." The Captain was slowly picking himself up from the floor. "It's about time you did something other than stand there looking decorative."

Relief was quickly replaced by annoyance. "Next time I'll knock you through a wall instead."

"Good plan, twice the damage that way. Those burns do sting though." A grimace flashed across his expression as he investigated the damage. "If I was a real attacker, the next action would have been to slit my throat, not check and see if I was hurt. Don't check them, just kill them. You can never kill them too much. Don't get any pretty ideas about saving them for information, so many times some idiot gets that idea and ends up dead."

The instructor was climbing to his feet, eyeballing his student as they started to circle again. "And while we're on the subject, there is something else I want you to remember. Scream. A lot. Make a huge awful racket if you are attacked. I don't care what you say, just keep making noise. Explosions are good, too, or breaking down a door."

"Why would I want to make a huge racket and blow stuff up?"

"Because your attackers are going to want to stay quiet, and you are going to want everyone to hear. The guards, myself, Sesshomaru-sama, if any of us hear you we will come running to help you."

'Ah, good point. I'm good at screaming, at least I can use that strength.' Keeping her aura at the snapping point, the miko watched her instructor, looking for anyway to get in a hit. Her instructor was not giving anything away, though. He wanted to see what she could do after a week of intensive work. He came at her using all of his speed, looking to close before she could even react.

Kagome fell back when he attacked, giving herself that extra fraction of a second to react. A barrier snapped up right in front of the Captain. He slammed into it at full force and was stunned, staggering backwards. While he was distracted Kagome closed and brought the dagger to his throat. "I believe that is a kill, instructor."

"Hai." The Captain lowered his hands in surrender. 'She's finally starting to get it. Her lack of skills is minor enough, as long as she remembers the rest of her weapons. That barrier stings, too.'

Rubbing his burnt nose, the Captain eyeballed his student. "Out. Go and bathe. Even a ningen could track you by scent right now."

The aura snapped again, then faded away. The dagger went into it's sheath at her waist as Kagome took a deep breath and forced her annoyance away. She bowed low to her instructor, then left the hall. Once outside the door her two personal guards fell in behind her, escorting her back to her room. 'I already miss Sango and Mirokou. They only left yesterday, and I already want to see them again. It was a little awkward for Mirokou, so I know why they left. But I still miss them. At least I know where they are so I can reach them. Maybe I'll go visit them.'

His hearing followed his student as she went out the door and into the hallway. 'It is a relief to know that she will be able to hold them off long enough for help to arrive. She is getting stronger, she can hold a barrier for many minutes now. It will have to be enough.' The Captain took himself to the west wing of the palace where there was a new healer installed. His burns would need to be looked at. 'Well, you keep poking at a sleeping animal and eventually you are going to get bit.'

----

"My lord."

Sesshomaru looked up to see an unfamiliar messenger, flanked by two of his guards. "Hai."

"Sesshomaru-sama, I bring a message from the Lord of the Southern Lands." A small scroll was set on his desk. The inu-youkai unrolled it and started to read.

_Sesshomaru-sama,_

_Word has reached me of your decision to take a mate. Felicitations. I have been meaning to come and renew our relationship, we have not spoken in over 100 years, and now would seem to be a perfect opportunity. I look forward to meeting with you and seeing your female._

_Merkamou_

'That would actually mean that he is coming to see if my mate is acceptable and whether or not he needs to kill her. Delightful.' Sesshomaru's eyes pinned the messenger to the floor. "How far away is he?"

"He is approximately four days behind me, my lord."

'And he would never travel alone. He always insists on traveling with a retinue. I am about to be invaded by youkai that will be looking to kill my mate. I suppose that I cannot kill this messenger, I need to send him back with my reply. Pity.' "You may return to your master and tell him that this Sesshomaru will meet with him in four days when he arrives." Sesshomaru looked back to his papers, clearly dismissing the servant.

'I have a large group coming as honored guests, but they will need to be watched constantly. At least one attempt will be made on her, that much is certain. If Merkamou can be convinced to accept her then he will remain a strong ally. His vassals and servants, though, they may be trouble no matter what their lord decides. He does not have the most obedient of servants.' A soft sigh escaped the youkai, now that he was alone. 'A retinue means that I will have to host some sort of celebration while they are here. Not only must we watch for assassins, we must entertain them. Kagome needs to be warned about what is coming.'

----

At first she had resented the two guards that followed her everywhere, but now Kagome was used to it. The taller of the guards had been burnt by her the morning that Sesshomaru and Sango had fought. Since that morning she had received no dark looks from the guards. These two would follow her all day, and would be replaced by a different pair at night. At least she was allowed outside now. Takanou was the least of their concerns, especially since he had not been spotted in the weeks since his disappearance. Even having them escort her to her bath and back did not upset her anymore. Anything was allowed as long as there was a hot spring on the other side.

'A long hot soak is the cure to any problem in the world.' Kagome was clean and dressed, her long hair drying in the breeze. She was sitting by the window while Kumo worked through her hair.

"Since you are done practicing, perhaps you would like your hair to be dressed for the evening?" Kumo was hopeful, since her lady was sitting still and she would have time.

'I am such a softie.' "Sure, Kumo, you can do my hair up." Kagome shifted on the cushion so that she was more comfortable. She knew she would not be allowed to move for the next half hour or so. Kumo was humming softly as she gathered up some combs and set to work. The miko shut her eyes and relaxed, Kumo humming softly behind her and the breeze blowing against her skin. 'Finally, relaxation.'

Pain exploded through her arm as an arrow embedded itself into her flesh. She looked at the arrow in shock before throwing herself into Kumo, knocking them both away from the window. A second arrow quivered in the door jam, just barely missing the two females. Before either could realize what was happening a figure was coming through her window, sword out and looking for her.

The pain disappeared as the adrenaline kicked in. The intruder actually moved past her, not seeing her ducked against the wall by the window. Without thinking Kagome flung herself at him, both hands grabbing his back.

The intruder howled as Kagome's aura flared. Her purifying power surged through him, leaving nothing but some dust and bones behind. Kagome's guards burst through the door, swords drawn and looking for the attacker. A third arrow whistled through the room, hitting one of the guards in the leg and sending him down.

Kagome threw a barrier over her window, stopping any further attacks from the archer outside. A final arrow hit the barrier and exploded in a burst of light. Kumo was on her feet, running to the hallway. "Guards, outside! Someone is trying to kill Kagome-sama! In the garden, quickly!"

'Okay, now this hurts.' Kagome swayed on her feet. The pain and the wild use of the power were making it hard to concentrate. Or stand, for that matter. She stared at the arrow sticking out of her arm, rather shocked to see it. 'Oh, that's what hurts.' Her guard was hustling her into the corner, his back to her, looking for any other attacks. More guards were coming into the room, pulling out their injured comrade and surrounding the dazed miko. A ball of rage was coming towards her room. 'Ah, that will be Sesshomaru.'

----

"Guards, outside! Someone is trying to kill Kagome-sama! In the garden, quickly!"

'What?' Sesshomaru flew through the palace, following the scent of his mate. He could smell blood and the burning smell that came with Kagome's attacks. She was still alive, he could tell that much, but she was injured. Her room was swarmed with guards, four of which had surrounded her in the corner. She had thrown a barrier over the window, stopping any other attacks. He could not see her, but the arrow in the wall and the pile of ash gave him excellent clues as to what had happened.

Guards were knocked aside as he moved to Kagome's side. She looked dazed, and still had an arrow in her arm as she leaned against the wall. "Sesshomaru."

Careful of her arm, Sesshomaru lifted her and carried her out of the room, flanked by her guard. He moved through the palace to the dining hall. It was a large interior room, a more secure place to wait while the attacker was found. "You. Find the healer, bring him here." The low growl in his voice inspired the chosen guard to put on an incredible burst of speed as he went for the healer.

"Yeah, this stings." Kagome was trying not to look at the arrow in her arm, trying to focus anywhere else. "Could've done without this experience. Nice to see that my guards are fast though. They destroyed my door."

"We will get you a new one." Sesshomaru smoothed her hair back, relieved that she was going to be okay, but furious that this had happened. "Did you recognize your attacker, the one that was in your room?"

"No, I'd never seen him before. I didn't even look for the archer. He got me on the first hit. It's a good thing we were off to the side, or he could have made a clean shot. Never thought of that. Never occurred to me to not sit in the window like a big target." She groaned, shifting around. "I'm still not used to being a target."

"They will pay, Kagome. One has already, I will deal with the second one."

Kagome looked up into his eyes, feeling his frustration and concern. 'I feel . . . special. Wanted. Wow. And ouch.'

The new healer was another inu-youkai, and a rather cranky one. "So, the miko has gotten hit with an arrow. Is she still conscious, or was the pain too much."

"I'm right here, you jerk." Sesshomaru set Kagome on her feet, letting her deal with the pompous old man. It would be good practice for her. "Now get over here and get this thing out of my arm!"

The healer's eyebrows just about disappeared in his hair. "Of course, my lady." He marched over, grabbed the arrow, and pulled it straight out. The miko went white and swayed, but stayed on her feet. Reluctant respect started to eat at the edges of the healer's mind as he pulled her sleeve up and started to clean and bandage her wound.

Convinced that his mate had the healer in hand, Sesshomaru moved out to the courtyard, meeting with the Captain who was organizing the search. The Captain bowed to him, then gave him the latest news. "They have a trail, moving through the garden and into the forests to the north. They are tracking him and should be able to catch him before full darkness falls."

Sesshomaru called his youkai cloud, lifting up and over his home and heading in the direction that the Captain had indicated. 'I will finish this myself.'

Sweeping the tops of the trees, Sesshomaru could see his troops tracking the attacker through the trees. He could smell an unfamiliar trail, moving quickly through the forest. He left the guards behind, flying ahead and tracking the survivor. As he closed her could hear him, struggling through the underbrush as he tried to flee the guards behind him. He never heard or saw the youkai lord, he was simply knocking to the ground, a deep slash across his chest and poison burning into his body. Looking up from the forest floor he found a red eyed youkai glaring at him, cracking his claws.

"Who sent you."

Hissing with pain, the attacker tried to back away, but Sesshomaru stepped on his arm, pinning him down. He howled as the poison worked into his body.

"You can die slowly, or quickly. Who sent you."

"No one. No one sent us. We will not bow to that stinking ningen. Your female is weak, and the offspring will be filthy half-breeds. She does not deserve to live."

A quick strike removed the attacker's head from the rest of his body, silencing his voice. Sesshomaru glared at the mess in front of him. The guards were closing in, very surprised to see that their prey was already dead, and at the hands of their lord. Sesshomaru said nothing, but called his cloud and returned to the palace. The guards could deal with the mess.

At the palace he found Kagome sitting in the dinning hall with Rin, her arm neatly bandaged and her person surrounded by guards.

"The attacker is gone."

Kagome looked up, a smile of relief spreading across her expression. "Sesshomaru, I'm glad that you're back. See, Rin, he's fine."

Rin let out a sigh of her own. "Rin was worried, Sesshomaru-sama."

Sesshomaru raised his eyebrow. "We should return you to your room."

"Um, are you sure about that? I was just shot there, you know."

"We will close the window. You are as safe there as anywhere else. Come, you should change out of that robe." Sesshomaru moved into the hall, waiting for them.

'Arrogant.' Kagome took Rin's hand and led her out, following the youkai lord and followed by her guards. Sesshomaru took Rin, letting Kagome go into her room to clean up. Kumo was waiting for her in her room. The servants had already cleaned up the mess and barred her window shut. Kumo hustled her into a new robe and went back to working on her hair. "We can still get this finished before you need to go to dinner."

'Well, she certainly does not seem to be rattled by this.' Kagome shut her eyes and tried to recapture her relaxation, but it would not come. 'Great, sleep is going to be hard to come by tonight.'

----

It took a very long time and some teamwork to get Rin into bed and asleep. She did not want to leave Kagome, and had begged to sleep in Kagome's room. Persistence had paid off and the little girl was asleep in her own room.

Sesshomaru did not want to let Kagome out of his sight, either. He followed her to her room, then brought her to his own room. The pot of tea was waiting, and he needed to tell her about the unwelcome visitor. He did not want to bring more stress on her, but there was no choice. Merkamou would meet her sooner or later, and they should just get it over with.

Kagome poured tea for both of them, and they settled in to a comfortable silence. Sesshomaru did not want to break it, and was hoping that she would. As expected, Kagome would be the first to speak.

"Well, that would be my first assassination attempt. Didn't go too badly. It's nice to get that first one out of the way, gets rid of some of the tension."

"Unfortunately, that is not the last one."

"I know, I know, but maybe I'll get a break before the next one. You can never tell."

"Four days."

"Huh?" Kagome choked on her tea. "Four days? How do you know?"

Sesshomaru took a deep breath. "The Lord of the Southern Lands is coming here."

"I thought he was an ally of yours. If he's coming to kill me, then why aren't you stopping him?"

"Technically, he is not coming here to kill you. Technically he is just coming to meet you. And if he approves of you, then he will remain an ally. His vassals and servants, though. They may do something drastic on their own."

"So this powerful lord is coming, and I have to show that I'm acceptable, and his people may try to kill me. Great. This sounds like fun."

"Of course, with a powerful ally and his retinue coming, we will need to house, feed, and entertain them. A celebration should be planned for our honored guest."

Kagome gaped at him. "We have to feed and entertain them? And I have to be approved? Does this mean I have to act like a lady?"

"Hai. I am sure that we can teach you the basics in the next four days." Sesshomaru had his best deadpan expression on, but his eyes were practically glowing with laughter.

"This is going to be worse than any attempt on my life."


	19. The Invader

A/N: This chapter really belongs on the end of that one of the previous chapter, but it was getting long. So everyone is getting a two-fer! -happy dance- Anyways, I don't own them.

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"This is worse than any attempt on my life."

Kagome dropped her head to her hands, rubbing her temples. "Can I just deal with this tomorrow? I think I've had enough for one night."

Without a word Sesshomaru pulled her up into his arms, carrying her to the bed. He lowered her down, following her onto the soft silk. Her breath caught as he ran his fingers down her neck, trailing down the opening of her robe. "I will protect you," he breathed into her ear, sending shivers through her body. Her arms came up to his hair, pulling him to her lips for a passionate kiss.

No matter what her doubts or reservations were, Sesshomaru could make her body feel so incredible that nothing else mattered. His hands were sliding over the silk of her robe, pushing concerns away with desire. Her eyes slid closed, only the present in her mind.

----

"Hey, easy on that arm! I don't want to deal with that healer anymore than I have to!"

"Then pay attention, miko! What are you daydreaming about, anyways?"

Circling with her instructor, Kagome tried to focus. "Oh, the usual. Arranging a party, guest rooms, food, servants. If I had any idea that this stuff was part of the job I would have run for the hills."

"Ah, getting your first taste of the position, huh? I certainly hope you have help."

"Kumo is babysitting me, and the housekeeper is taking care of most of it, but the royal pain is too busy, so I'm making the decisions." Kagome's aura flared, making the Captain flinch back.

"Quit your whining. It's about time you started to make yourself useful."

Rin flinched on the sidelines. 'Oh, Kagome-chan is going to kill the Captain now.'

If looks alone could kill, Rin and Kagome would have been down another teacher. As it was Kagome lunged at him, connecting and throwing him across the room.

"Useful? I'll show you useful!" The miko stomped across the room, glaring down at the Captain. "Are you going to yield or should I aim for a wall this time?"

"Yield. I yield. That temper of yours, miko. Never thought I would meet a miko that stays with youkai and has a temper like yours. Are you sure you're a miko? You're not part youkai back there somewhere? Maybe a touch of elemental, fire perhaps?"

Kagome pulled him to his feet. "I'm all miko, teacher. Just not a very good one."

"Plenty powerful enough." A loud pop came from the Captain's shoulder as he stretched. "Since you have such a hectic schedule why don't you go deal with it. I'm going to work with Rin on using a second sword."

The miko bowed, then made her escape. She knew Kumo would be waiting for her, and the housekeeper would not be far behind. For the last two days she had been dealing with this youkai's visit, and she was already sick of him. Preparations had taken up most of Kagome's time. Kumo would pound her on her manners while the housekeeper asked her impossible questions.

'That's probably the real reason I tossed him across the room. So many reasons to get annoyed, and I'm supposed to look all calm and serene. This visit better not last more than a couple of days, or I'll just explode!'

"Kagome-sama, you are early! Wonderful, we can have you cleaned up and ready to finish meeting with the housekeeper and the rest of the staff this afternoon. All of the preparations can be finished by tonight, putting us right on time for Merkamou-sama to arrive tomorrow."

"It's almost over. I can deal with one more day of frantic preparations. Then I get to be all calm and quiet." Kagome pulled off her sweaty clothes, changing into the robe Kumo held out for her.

"Yes, and you need to practice, Kagome-sama. Remember how you are supposed to be behaving."

"No running."

Kumo nodded. "And?"

"No swearing."

"And?"

"No hitting."

"And the last one?"

"No yelling."

"Very good, Kagome-sama."

----

"Sesshomaru-sama."

Yet another servant groveling on the floor. 'What does this one want?' "Hai."

"My lord, Merkamou-sama is approaching the gates. He has two others with him, the rest are still a day away."

'Damn impatient fool.' "Bring him here when he arrives."

Rubbing his temples, Sesshomaru sent another servant to make sure that there would be rooms for the unwelcome guests. He shoved his papers to the side, bracing himself. Kagome was going to be furious.

Sesshomaru could hear the voice of his ally from down the hallway. Loud, social, and volatile, Merkamou was a polar opposite of Sesshomaru. Only centuries of peace and a united front to the Lord of the East kept these two from tearing each other apart for imagined insults.

"Sesshomaru-sama, it is wonderful to see you doing so well!"

"Merkamou-sama."

Merkamou dropped to a cushion in front of Sesshomaru's desk. His long red hair was mixed with feathers and his eyes were those of a hawk. He wore flamboyant red silk with his family's crest on the back. Sesshomaru carefully pulled his claws back out of the wood of his desk, trying to remain calm.

"How has it been for your lands? Since that hanyou was destroyed we have had more than our fill of minor youkai making trouble."

"Order has been maintained, there has been little violence."

A low chuckle escaped the invader. "Ah, that must be why you have chosen a mate. You have time now. You will need to start raising your heir, and some siblings as well. Tell me about this female. When someone told me you had a ningen I threw them through a wall. Now it seems to be true! I would never have thought that you would do such a thing."

A low, warning growl echoed through the room. "She is a powerful miko."

"There is no way!" echoed a female voice.

The two youkai could hear the female yelling from down the hall. Sesshomaru sighed and fought the urge to rub his temples again. 'Would that miko ever learn to stop yelling?'

"Is that her now? Kami, does she have a set of lungs. Lets go meet her." Merkamou was already moving down the hall before Sesshomaru realized he was serious.

'I will not kill this idiot. I will not kill this idiot.' Sesshomaru caught up with him in the hall, already looking into a meeting room where Kagome was yelling.

The miko's back was to the door. Her two guards were glaring at Merkamou, but came to attention when they saw Sesshomaru. The Captain was glaring at Kagome as Kumo and the housekeeper sat to the side, going over lists.

"I will not have four guards following me around, two is plenty!"

"Sure, plenty, then how did you get that hole in your arm? It is just for the week, then you can go back to these two. Come on, miko, reasonable."

"I'm being perfectly reasonable, and I say no! Can I help you?" Kagome whirled around, already knowing that Sesshomaru was there. The second youkai caught her by surprise. Kumo and the housekeeper squeaked and dropped to the floor. The Captain bowed low, recognizing the Lord of the Southern Lands.

Kagome took a guess and bowed to the stranger. 'Oh, fabulous. So much for the lady act.' The miko was dressed in a haori and hakama, her hair escaping from its tie. 'Merkamou – one. Kagome – zip.'

"Well, not at all what I expected. I smell a little fighter here, not a pretty toy." Merkamou moved into the room, staring at Kagome. The object of his attention straightened, caught between looking down politely and glaring. Her hands were in fists as she fought with her temper.

The inu-youkai had his claws dug into his palms, refusing to kill the hawk.

Merkamou ducked down, trying to look Kagome in the eye. The miko was losing her temper, a slight shimmer appearing around her. Merkamou was amused. He reached out with a finger to tip her chin up. Before Sesshomaru could rip the offending digit off Kagome's aura flashed and Merkamou was jumping back, holding his hand.

The miko had not moved, but now she looked him in the eye and gave him a feral smile. "My lord, might I suggest you ask for permission before you attempt something of that nature again?"

Her victim examined his finger, then roared with laughter. "Oh, I like this one. Are you sure you can handle her? I would love to see her in action."

"Perhaps another time, my lord. If neither of you needs me, then I have things that need my attention. My lord?" Kagome looked to Sesshomaru, who looked perfectly calm, despite the blood running down his hand. He gave her a small nod.

The miko bowed to the two youkai, then swept out, followed by the Captain, servants, and guards.

"Sesshomaru-sama, I have been pleasantly surprised. I should have known you would find a powerful female. Perhaps I could watch her tomorrow, a little demonstration perhaps? Some friendly sparring?"

'This idiot wants to fight my mate while I watch. He has no sense.' "Perhaps, but no sparring. It would not be wise."

"Oh, very well. As long as I'm here we should go over some of the old treaties and get some work done. I'm sure I'll get plenty of chances to watch your female."

'Will not kill him.' Sesshomaru led the way back to his office, his mantra running through his head.

----

"Well, Kagome-sama, you were able to do most of the things we talked about." Kumo was laying out clothing for dinner, convinced that she could make up for the first meeting between her lady and the Southern Lord.

"True. I didn't run and I didn't swear. I didn't really hit him, physically anyways. And he started it."

Kumo plunked Kagome down on a cushion, starting on her hair. The Captain was nervously standing by the door. He did _not_ want to be in the lady's bedchamber, especially while she was having her hair done, but the lady had insisted on finishing the conversation somewhere far away from Merkamou.

"Captain, is he always that impulsive? I thought for sure Sesshomaru was going to rip his arm off."

"Hai, that one always acts before he thinks. He is powerful, and makes a loyal ally, so Sesshomaru-sama tolerates his presence."

"I'm starting to think that four guards may not be a bad idea. But pick smart ones, because if I'm tripping over them I'm going to send them back to you."

"Understood, my lady. Is there anything else?" The Captain was already edging out the door.

Kagome turned her head to flash a smile. "Nope, I'm all done now. Thanks for coming down here, I didn't want to deal with trouble maker anymore."

Kumo grumbled under her breath and turned Kagome so she was facing front again.

"Of course, my lady." Bowing, the Captain let himself out.

"Kagome-sama, stay still so I can get this done. You can still show that you are a lady worthy of this position."

"I don't know, Kumo. I think it was better that he met me like that. He certainly does not think of me as a pretty little thing with no thoughts in her head. He sees me as something, different. And noisier."

"Now you must show him your other side, Kagome-sama. You need both."

"I will never understand why the ability to wear your hair nicely and wear fancy clothes counts as a skill. Even though I think I did a good job on my talking. That was a pretty good line, even if I do say so myself."

"Hai, Kagome-sama, you did very well. And tomorrow I'm sure he will want to watch your practice and see you as a warrior. But tonight you will be a lady." Kumo was carefully pulling Kagome's hair back, turning it into loops and twists held in place with beautiful combs.

"Kumo, why do I feel like you will make me into a lady whether I want to or not?"

"You may be right in that, Kagome-sama, but it is only with the best of intentions." Kumo slid another comb into Kagome's shining hair. "I must take care of Rin next. She is also going to be at dinner and must look the part of the lord's ward."

"Oh, good luck with that one."

"Arigato, Kagome-sama, I believe I will need it."


	20. Challenges

A/N: I'm glad that you guys were surprised by Merkamou. I love him, he is just about my favorite character to write. Thanks, CindyGirl. I figure that Sesshy is different when he's alone with Kagome, whether he wants to or not. I'm fighting hard to keep him in character outside of his exchanges with Kagome. Odd request, any artists out there? I would love to see what someone thinks Merkamou or Kumo look like. And there are some scenes in here that I think would make great pictures. Of course, I can't draw anything more than a stick figure. Anyways, still don't own them. Just yank the strings.

"Okay, Rin, what are we going to remember?'

"No running, no swearing, no hitting, no yelling."

"Yes, and no fingers. Use the chopsticks. Are you ready?"

"Kagome-chan? Rin can't move."

The miko sighed. "I know, Rin, but you look very pretty. Sesshomaru will be very proud of you. Merkamou-sama will be impressed with what a nice girl you are."

Ring stopped pulling at her obi, trying to look calm and grown up. "Okay, Kagome-chan, Rin is ready."

"Jo-chan, you should leave the sword. Really, it will be okay, its just for dinner."

"No, Kagome-chan. Rin does not trust Merkamou-sama."

"You haven't even met him yet!"

The little girl looked very serious. "Didn't he try to touch you, Kagome-chan?"

"Hai, but he didn't mean any harm, I don't think."

"Kagome-chan has her dagger, Rin will bring her sword."

Kagome groaned. They were going to be late if they did not leave. "Fine, jo-chan. It's pretty enough, no one will notice."

As the two ningen moved into the hall four guards fell into step around them. Kagome's hands clenched with annoyance, but she forced herself to relax. She had agreed to the extra guards, now she had to live with it. Instead she focused on not messing with her clothes or hair. Kumo had worked on her for almost an hour, and she did not want to ruin her handiwork.

'I'm a lady. I'm calm and serene. I am in control. These damn sleeves are driving me up the wall.'

The miko stopped outside of the door. "Are you ready, Rin?"

Looking like she was going into battle, Rin nodded. "Hai."

"Lets go."

One of the guards smiled and slid the door open. "Good luck," he whispered.

Inside she found Sesshomaru and Merkamou sipping at tea. Kagome led the way, pausing to bow before carefully moving to her place. Rin gave the guest a cold stare, then bowed politely and sat next to Kagome.

Merkamou was delighted. "Where do you find them? That little fledgling looks ready to fight me right now, and she's even armed! I haven't seen a single ningen female like this, and you've collected two. What's your name, fledgling?"

"Rin."

Kagome tapped Rin's arm, making her take her hand off of the hilt of her sword.

"You're a brave one, Rin. Not many fledglings that would challenge me like that. Worried that I'm going to hurt the miko? You've had one eye on her since you walked in. Perhaps you are in training as one of her guards?"

Rin flushed slightly, but refused to look away. "You touched Kagome-chan."

He smiled tightly, showing some teeth. "Hai, and the miko burned me. I would consider that even, unless you would like to argue the point."

A sharp tap from Kagome made Rin look away. "No, Merkamou-sama. Kagome-chan says that it is even."

Relief rushed over Kagome as Merkamou laughed again.

"Sesshomaru-sama, it is a wonder you get any peace in this house."

"Hai." Sesshomaru looked decidedly bored. 'You have no idea.'

"Merkamou-sama, perhaps you could tell us about your lands. I have only been there briefly, and I don't know if Rin has been there at all." Kagome flashed a winning smile. 'Distract him before Sesshomaru finally loses it and kills him during dinner.

"Ah, miko, you should come and visit. My palace is on the ocean and the sunrise is stunning. The water glows like flames as the sun touches it. There are seabirds overhead, calling to each other. For those few moments there is perfection on Earth. And then there are the mountains, wonderful in summer. It is only two days walk to a lovely hot springs, where . . ."

'Wow, he is passionate. I thought all of the youkai lords were like Sesshmaru. It seems not. I bet he'll keep talking all night if I just nod and smile. Yup, sounds like he's just getting started.'

Merkamou was in his element. He had an enraptured audience and good food. He regaled them with stories from his land, everything from court gossip to great battles. Once he discovered that Kagome was not embarrassed by an off color story he added some stories involving large amounts of sake. The tension leaked out of the room as Kagome giggled into her sleeves.

"Rin does not understand. Why would your friend dare you to go to the bath house?" It seemed a silly thing to do.

"Fledgling, you will understand when you are older."

"My lord, I do think it is time for Rin to call it a night. May we be excused, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Hai."

"Sesshomaru-sama, I thought you had died! You have not said a word all night. Come, the females are retiring and I have brought some wonderful sake. Our advisors are still fighting, but we can watch over them and drink at the same time."

"Merkamou-sama. . . "

Kagome pulled a very curious Rin out of the dining hall. "Come on, jo-chan. Sesshomaru has to work tonight. We can draw up in my room."

"Yea!" All rules about running were forgotten as Rin darted down the hall.

"Rin! Get back here!" Kagome gave chase with her guards running behind her.

Kumo was not amused when her charges arrived out of breath and hair falling down. "Kagome-sama! Rin-sama! What are you doing?"

"Rin is going to draw while Sesshomaru-sama works!" Rin was spinning in circles, trying to untie her kimono. "How does Rin get out of this?"

Kagome caught Rin and held her still while Kumo helped her out of her formal clothes. "Don't worry, Kumo, we were very good for dinner. Just one little sprint back."

"And the whole palace could hear that, I'm sure. Your guards are not light on their feet." Kumo bundled Rin into a robe.

"Oh, I suppose they could hear us. Oops."

"Yes, my lady. Think of all of the times Rin-sama has quietly walked out of the room, then sprinted down the hall."

'Damn. Merkamou – two. Kagome – zip.' The two ningen were now in comfortable robes, ready to have a quiet evening far away from the youkai lords. "Sorry, Kumo. We did try, though."

"Kagome-sama, you should not apologize to me. You can do as you wish, I am simply trying to be of service."

"And I appreciate it, Kumo. There is so much riding on Merkamou deciding to not kill me. I think today went well. At least I'll live until his retinue shows up tomorrow. And the stupid, stupid celebration the day after that." Kagome flopped onto her bed next to Rin. The little one already had the crayons and some paper out, setting to work on another of her masterpieces. "If we can convince Merkamou to accept me, getting the other two youkai lords to go along with it will be much easier. If the four lords can agree, then the rest of the youkai will fall into line. If Merkamou decides no, then not only is he going to try and kill me, the other lords will go for it as well. And tomorrow I have to practice with him watching. Oh, Kami, this stinks!"

"Don't worry, Kagome-chan, you will be wonderful." Rin gave her a bright smile, completely confident in her friend.

"And you, no more challenging Merkamou-sama! Especially not at meals! Bad manners. That means no more grabbing for the sword, no more nasty glares. He is a taiyoukai, like Sesshomaru-sama. You don't want him mad at you, you are not ready to handle something like that." Kagome did not want to upset Rin, but the little girl could easily get in over her head trying to protect Kagome.

"Rin did not mean to challenge Merkamou-sama. Rin's hand just . . . moved!"

"You must be more careful, that's a challenge for a youkai. You have spent so much time learning to fight, but you have never been in a real one. Let's keep it that way for now. Lets add no challenges to our list of things that we remember, okay?"

"Hai, Kagome-chan, Rin will not try to fight with Merkamou-sama."

'Yow, her view of the world is certainly skewed. Growing up with Sesshomaru has taken away a lot of the fear that a youngster would have of the youkai lords. She should have been scared out of her mind to eat with those two, not looking for a fight because one of them tried to touch me. Might want to mention this to the Captain, see if he can bump her view back to where it belongs.' Kagome pulled out her journal and started to write. Her journal entries had certainly been interesting as of late.

_Met the Lord of the Southern Lands today. What a jerk! If I can make it through this visit without purifying any of his bits off, I'll be surprised. Or Sesshomaru is going to yank some of his bits off. That idiot was trying to touch me right in front of Sesshomaru. While I am not his official mate, Sesshomaru is certainly acting like I am. Either Merkamou is looking for a fight, or he has all of the sense of a brick. And I'm not sure which it is. Nice enough guy at dinner, good story teller. Rin was picking a fight with him, thank Kami he let it go. Sesshomaru would have struck him dead if he ever threatened his Rin. I'm surprised he let the little threat go. He barely moved the entire meal. He barely even moved when Merkamou was circling me this afternoon. It's like he has to stand back and let Merkamou scope us out. His hands were bleeding, he didn't like what was going on. He was so tense this afternoon I got a massive headache. At dinner he was more annoyed than anything, and bored. Bored is better than rage, though. Rage leads to a much bigger headache for me._

_This picking up his feelings thing sucks sometimes._

_Oh yeah, that's because we're mates. Not married, not boyfriend and girlfriend, not lovers. Mates. Sure, he takes care of me, protects me, desires me. And I'm going to stay, I mean, this is pretty darn good. And he thinks that he will fall in love with me. But, and don't tell anyone, I think I'm already falling in love with him. Damn him. When we are with people, he barely says two words, but when we're alone. Then he talks to me. Not a lot, still doesn't like to use up a lot of words, but he does talk. And now I know he has feelings. Pretty strong ones, sometimes. He just keeps them so well hidden that no one can tell. I don't know if even he can tell his own feelings anymore. He's been squashing them down for so long. This is just too weird. And now I have to convince his allies to accept me, the ningen. Tomorrow is going to be a very, very long day._

----

"Kagome."

"Rin, the sun isn't even up. I'll get up with the sun, okay jo-chan?"

"Jo-chan?"

Kagome blinked in the dark. 'Okay, that wasn't Rin's voice.' Her eyes focused on the tall figure in front of her. Silver hair, gold eyes. 'Should have known, I can feel him right there.'

She let out a quiet giggle. "Yeah, thought you could use a nickname. So, what's up jo-chan?"

"You are not in the correct room." Sesshomaru ignored his new pet name.

"Huh? You are just getting done now? What on Earth were you two doing?" Kagome sat up, staring at him in the dark.

"The advisors wanted to argue out some of the wording on an old treaty. It has taken this long for the fools to come to an agreement. And that was for only one, tomorrow they will attempt to work out several more. And you are still in the wrong room."

"I just dozed off, Kumo must have put out the lamps." He was staring at her still. "All right, all right, I'm up, I'm up. Come on, your bed is going to be cold now, I should make you go and warm up the blankets for me or sleep in my room."

"I do not believe Kumo would be amused to come in and find us in the morning."

'Ack, had not thought of that.' Kagome blushed as she moved into Sesshomaru's room. "Good point. Your room it is. You have the better bed, anyways."

There was nothing graceful about the way Kagome stumbled to the bed and belly flopped on it. "It's been a long day, and I have no business being awake right now."

"If this is too much for you tonight, you can return to your room." Sesshomaru stayed on the far side of the room, looking at her.

'Oh, damn, think he's a little put out now. Who'd have thought that the great and mighty lord would be so sensitive?' "No, I sleep better in here with you. Just grousing after a long day. Come on, you've had a long day, too. You need to rest before the torture continues tomorrow."

Kagome could hear the hiss of silk as Sesshomaru undressed. She let out a sigh of relief. He was going to come to bed and get some rest.

"This visit is accurately described as torture." A warm body slipped into bed next to Kagome, pulling her to his chest and holding her there. "Damn idiot."

"The idiot is still a loyal ally, and I think he may be convinced to accept me. We can play his games for a few days in return for keeping a peaceful neighbor to the south." Kagome tipped her head back so it rested against his shoulder. "I will be safer, your lands will be safer. It's worth a couple of days of dealing with some impulsive behavior."

"I will be sorely pressed to not kill him if he tries to touch you again."

"You were perfect today. As long as you let me handle it, I will look stronger and you will look confident in me. Even though he has all of the common sense of a billy goat. Is he really considering sparring with me tomorrow?"

A deep sigh pushed Sesshomaru's chest against his mate. "He says so. I wonder if the fool has dealt with a mated inu-youkai in the past. If he is truly that ignorant his advisors would do well to tell him of the protocol. If they wish for his limbs to remain attached."

"I have full faith in your ability to control yourself if it's just a minor slip. You let him go today, when he tried to touch me and when he threatened Rin."

"You had already taken care of it. With Rin it was nothing more than a lesson to the pup on manners. He was correct, it was foolish for her to challenge him like that."

"I already talked to her. She won't do it again."

Sesshomaru pulled her tighter. "Good. I do not need anything else that will make me want to kill him. His mere presence is enough."

"You need to rest. If you are tired it will be just that much harder to deal with him tomorrow."

"Hai, as do you."

"I'm already most of the way there."

Gentle fingers were running through Kagome's hair as she dozed off. "It will all be" yawn "fine, Sesshomaru."

"Hai."

"Goodnight, Sesshomaru."

Her breathing had already shifted to that of sleep. "Good night, koishii."

----

"Kagome-chan?"

'Oh, what? She usually won't bother me when I'm in here, she knows she's not supposed to come in. What's the big idea?'

"Kagome-chan, it is Rin, and it is getting late. Rin does not want you to miss breakfast."

A quick inspection showed that Rin was outside of the door, calling in. Sesshomaru's eyes were open, but it was evident that he had just woken up as well. A quick glance out the window showed the sun up well above the horizon. Kagome looked horrified. "We over slept! Up!" She vaulted out of bed and dashed to her own room. Kumo was there with clothes and hairbrush at the ready.

"Good morning, Kagome-sama."

"Ack, not so far. I'm going to be late for breakfast, then for practice. And I was going to let you fancy up my hair, now it looks like I'll barely have time to brush it."

Rin darted into the room. "Kagome-chan, we will be late!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, jo-chan. I just slept too late. Sesshomaru usually gets up as early as you, but he must have been tired." Kagome worked on her ties as Kumo brushed through her hair. "I will be ready any minute now. I hope Sesshomaru is up. Sesshomaru!"

"That amount of noise is not necessary this early in the morning." Sesshomaru was dressed and looked as immaculate as ever. He came into Kagome's room, looking just a bit superior as Kumo tied her lady's hair back as best she could. Kagome gave him a nasty look before grabbing Rin and heading into the hall. Kumo bowed to her lord, backing out of the way so he could follow the lady out to the dining hall.

Fortunately the dining hall was empty when they arrived. The small group had settled in and were sipping tea when Merkamou came wandering in. He smiled at Sesshomaru, looking perfectly rested. "You are such an early riser, Sesshomaru-sama. And you have the females getting up at the same insane hours. I believe in savoring the mornings, not vaulting out of bed at the first light."

'It is obvious you do not have a mate or pups.' Sesshomaru ignored the comment, sipping on his tea.

"Miko, I look forward to seeing your practice today. I am also looking forward to seeing you, little fledgling. Your Captain seems to be quite proud of you."

Rin blushed and looked at her breakfast. "Rin tries hard for the Captain."

"I think it will be a most enjoyable morning." Merkamou leaned back a bit, studying the two females over his cup. "It will prove to be most entertaining."

----


	21. Acceptance

A/N: This is the problem with having such awesome reviewers (such as CindyGirl, LynGreenTea, yourworstnightmare, Shadow of the black abyss, cpd3, Nilee, Hikaritenshi2000, blackXheart, Always Smiling, Tracy Johnson, Sheenachi, Sesshomaru's Wildfire). I want to send out the chapters just that much faster! I love it when I'm unpredictable. And my reviewers are asking all the right questions and just making it so much fun!

I own nothing.

"Kee – yah!"

'It's kind of embarrassing when one of my guards runs away from a little girl.' Kagome watched with amusement as her guards were used as living pells for Rin. Her progress had been amazing, but the girl certainly had put her heart into it. Two or three hours a day with the Captain, and Kagome had found the girl practicing in her room at night when she was supposed to be sleeping on several occasions. 'Maybe this is what Sango was like when she was young. She certainly took a shine to Rin when she was here. And that last attack looked like a Sango original.'

Merkamou and Sesshomaru sat a small distance away, watching the little ningen circling with the youkai guard. At first the guard had been very worried about the little girl, but two kills had been enough to put him on alert. Now he was determined to bring this little whirlwind down. Rin was looking up at him with huge, innocent eyes, looking so small and cute behind her blade. 'No, I won't fall for that look again! That ningen is a little demon!'

The guard charged, hoping that his superior speed would simply overwhelm her. Rin dropped to one knee, making herself even smaller and getting beneath his defenses for a shot at his legs. As he was rushing by the guard felt a hit to both thighs. He spun around, looking for the girl, and almost missed seeing her as she popped up right in front of him, blocking his next attack. "No fair! Rin got you!"

Laughter exploded out of Merkamou. Rin glanced at him, then turned her eyes to her Captain.

"Hai, Rin, that was a hit. I don't think you gave the guard a chance to notice."

Rin backed off, then bowed to the guard. "Arigato."

The guard returned her bow, then returned to his comrades that were already razzing him. "You got hit again? Maybe the little one should take your place!"

"Sesshomaru-sama, I would love to spar with the fledgling."

"No."

'Oh, Kami, they are at it again.' Kagome started to move over to Sesshomaru, trying to make it look casual.

"Come now, Sesshomaru-sama, you know I would not hurt a little one. She has such spirit."

Kagome had made her way to Sesshomaru, who was growling low. "It is an unnecessary risk."

"I give you my word as Lord of the Southern Lands that I will not hurt your little fledgling. Now, can I spar with her?"

Sesshomaru felt a sense of calm run over him as Kagome discreetly set her hand on his arm. He glanced over at her. 'Is she using her abilities as a miko, or is it just her influence on me? I will have to ask her later. For now, I will simply be thankful that I will not strike the fool down today.' Kagome looked up at him and gave a tiny nod. 'She wants Merkamou to spar with Rin. He has given his word, it would be an insult to deny him.'

"Do as you please."

"Little fledgling, I will give you a real opponent." Merkamou scooped a practice blade up from the rack, moving to where Rin and the Captain were standing. "Come, little one, I will show you some new tricks."

Rin looked a little pale as she glanced to the Captain, then Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru gave her a very slight nod, while Kagome gave her a big smile and that thumbs up thing she liked to do. She turned back to the tall youkai, taking a deep breath, then bowing to him. "Merkamou-sama."

"Do not look so worried, I will just show you a few tricks that these dogs don't know." Merkamou dropped down into a defensive stance. "Attack me at will, fledgling"

Sesshomaru watched, his entire body tense, as Merkamou sparred with Rin. He was as good as his word, not leaving even the slightest mark on the girl. The girl would be very dusty from spending a good deal of time on the ground, but no injuries. Kagome did not leave his side, keeping one hand on him to help him maintain his calm. Rin overcame her apprehension and was now trying to squeeze every bit of information out of her partner that she could.

"And what should Rin do when her opponent is so much faster?"

"Slow him down, of course! Anyway you can. Try to get a hit before he gets close to you, blind him, do something so he can not just kill you before you can respond. You are a ningen, you can not move as fast as me. You can learn to move pretty darn fast, and you will probably be okay against one, maybe two. If you are up against a really tough youkai, though, do not stand and fight. Use something else against them. Or, even better, don not get caught with a tough youkai by yourself! Have an army!"

Rin giggled. "Rin does not have an army."

"Well, ask Sesshomaru-sama really nicely and maybe he will let you borrow his."

"Merkamou-sama, you are silly. Sesshomaru-sama protects Rin, so Rin does not need an army. Rin just wants to help Sesshomaru-sama and not be helpless."

Merkamou glanced over to the silent Lord of the West. "Hai, fledgling, you do not need an army if you have Sesshomaru-sama to watch over you. And you are not helpless. You did get me once. Even if it was not a very honorable shot."

"Gomen, Merkamou-sama, but you are taller than Rin thought."

Kagome clamped a hand over her mouth to stop her laughter at the youkai lord's grimace. The sound was not lost on their unwelcome guest, who looked over to the couple. "Well, miko, perhaps it is your turn. Care to come and play?" Merkamou bounced on the balls of his feet, looking for all the world like an eager ten year old looking for a playmate.

"Ah, Merkamou-sama, I do not believe that would be a good idea." Kagome reluctantly took her hand off of Sesshomaru to move towards the practice area. "Rin, why don't you keep Sesshomaru-sama company while I work."

"Hai, Kagome-chan!"

Merkamou watched her carefully as she moved to the weapons rack. Kagome gave him a long look before turning to the Captain. "Captain, what would you like me to work with today?"

'This is no practice, but a demonstration. Better run through everything.' "Let us start with your archery today, Kagome-sama."

The title sounded weird coming from her instructor, but it made sense. Kagome scooped up her bow and a quiver of arrows. "We should take this outside, then. I would prefer not to burn down this wing of the palace." She moved out to the gardens, her guards following her closely and the rest of the group trailing behind. At the edge of the forest she could demonstrate some of her purifying arrows without anyone getting hurt.

"Jo-chan, I want you to stay back behind the guards. No coming up to me today, I don't want you to get hit by anything." Kagome was looking around, searching for a likely target. A large tree on the edge of the clearing looked like a promising opponent. She pulled an arrow from her quiver and set it to the string. Taking a deep breath she felt her powers jump to life, charging the arrow. She steadied herself, then released.

The tree exploded, bits of wood flying through the air. It was far enough away that the debris did not reach them, but the effect was still everything Kagome could have hoped for. 'That looks darn impressive. Perfect.'

Merkamou did look suitably impressed. "Perhaps that tree over there has done something equally grievous. Perhaps it should be dealt the same fate."

Kagome grinned as she pulled another arrow. "As you wish, my lord." The arrow whistled away, destroying the hapless tree.

"I had heard that a miko shot Naraku at the last battle, am I to assume that you were that miko?"

"Hai, my lord."

The hawk eyes were focused on the remains of the tree. "Aside from blowing up evil trees, what else have you been practicing?"

"The usual, staff, sword. Here, I'll show you." She called one of her guards over, catching the practice blade that the Captain tossed to her. "Come on, Yukio, I know you've been wanting to take a shot at me since you startled me and I gave you a burn. Now's your shot."

Her guard hesitated, looking to Sesshomaru. The lord gave him a slight nod. Yukio moved out to face off with his lady, swallowing hard. 'This is going to hurt.'

The miko waited, wanting Yukio to make the first move. Yukio hesitated, until some of the guards started to razz him. "Go for it, Yukio! At least try before she fries you!"

Merkamou glanced at the guards, surprised that they were so convinced the miko was going to defeat their comrade. They did not seem to be joking when they assumed she would be victorious.

Yukio gritted his teeth, then went for Kagome. He was not holding anything back, hoping that he would be able to get through this with some dignity intact. Kagome blocked him, then used her left hand to touch his shoulder as he closed, throwing him back. To his credit, Yukio was back on his feet in seconds, but looked dazed. The smell of burning cloth was in the air. Yukio glanced at his shoulder, seeing a small burn. He shifted his grip, trying to think of a way to take this miko down without her getting another touch on him. He feinted left, then went right, knocking Kagome down. When he went for the kill a barrier appeared, stopping his attack. Kagome kicked out and knocked him from his feet while he was still staring at her barrier.

Kagome scrambled to her feet, holding her blade in front of her as Yukio leapt to his feet again. The barrier was gone, Kagome was trying to conserve her strength. She stopped, and her sword began to glow with the same pink shimmer as her aura. Yukio grimaced, then zig zagged in, trying to catch the miko off guard again. Kagome swung, forcing Yukio to block. When the two swords touched there was a blast, similar to when Kagome touched him, and the sword was knocked away.

Unarmed, Yukio tried to drag the miko down, hoping to pin her before she could get in another hit. She caught him in the chest, throwing him back about ten feet to land on his back with a groan. Kagome walked over, carefully setting her practice blade against his throat. "Yield, Yukio?"

"Hai, my lady."

The neutral stare was replaced by a bright smile as she helped her guard to his feet. "Arigato, Yukio. You did well, I was impressed!"

Yukio retreated to his comrades, holding his aching shoulder. His friends were more supportive now, since he had been thrown around like a rag doll.

Merkamou was deep in thought as he watched the two fight. The guard was good, he would say that much. The miko had no style to speak of, and was no faster or stronger than any other ningen he had seen. And yet, it was the guard that had limped back, and the miko looked to be just fine. She had walked over to Sesshomaru and had set her hand on his arm, talking to him quietly. The miko was a fighter, to be certain, and seemed to be quite capable. Dangerous, even. It would be interesting to see her in a real fight, where she would not hold back.

The miko turned back to face him, her hand still on Sesshomaru's arm. "My lord, was that to your satisfaction?"

'Not even pretending that this was anything more than a show for me. Defiant.' Merkamou shrugged. "Perhaps. I would, of course, love to see you in action for myself."

"No." Sesshomaru could not hide the growl in his voice, even with Kagome's help.

"Perhaps, then, the miko would be willing to show some of her work with the staff she brought. I am certain another of her guards would be willing to help."

After a final whisper to Sesshomaru Kagome moved back to the field, picking up her staff. "As you wish, my lord."

A feeling of threat seized Kagome's stomach as Merkamou turned, his hand going to his sash. His hand came up with a throwing dagger, aimed for her. Without thought she threw up a barrier, the dagger disappearing in a flash of light as it hit. The next barrier went up around Merkamou, not a moment too soon as Sesshomaru's Tokijin slammed into the side, sending Kagome to her knees.

Merkamou looked up with surprised eyes to see himself in a barrier with Sesshomaru on the outside, snarling with Tokijin. The miko was on her knees, face white, but staring right into his eyes. 'She passed.'

Kagome struggled to her feet, eyes locked with Merkamou as she walked over. Sesshomaru was still snarling and trying to batter his way through the barrier. The barrier was starting pulse slightly. "Sesshomaru."

The inu-youkai snarled, glaring at Kagome as she moved towards the barrier. His eyes were bleeding red, but there was still some reason in them.

"Sesshomaru, please, stop. If you slam through that barrier you are going to knock me unconscious."

The attacks stopped, but he still paced outside of the barrier glaring. "Drop the barrier, Kagome, the traitor does not deserve your protection."

The miko stared at her prisoner. "It was a test, was it not Merkamou-sama? You were testing me. If you had killed me, I would have failed and the unacceptable female would be removed."

Merkamou met her gaze evenly. "Hai."

"Bastard." Sesshomaru slammed a fist against the barrier, earning himself a burn and causing Kagome to sway. Seeing his mate so pale forced Sesshomaru to back away, waiting for the barrier to come down to kill the idiot.

"Have I passed, Merkamou-sama?" Kagome's voice was as ice cold as her mate's as she glared at the youkai. "Am I acceptable?"

Merkamou hesitated, glancing at Sesshomaru. The barrier around him shrank, the edges crackling.

"You do realize that I could kill you right now, do you not Merkamou-sama? You would be purified and leave nothing but ash. I cannot let you out unless you are no longer a threat. You have been a loyal ally to my lord, I wish for you to continue as his ally. Make your choice."

The youkai lord hissed. "Hai, Kagome-sama. You are an acceptable female. You will make a fitting mate for Sesshomaru-sama. I certainly hope he never does anything to truly anger you, or the Western Lands will no longer have a lord."

Kagome could not hide the small smile that appeared at his last comment. She made the barrier larger again so that he could be comfortable, then turned to deal with her mate.

"My lord, he has made the right decision."

"He has attempted to strike you down. His life is forfeit."

"It was a test. You knew that something like this would happen. I have passed, he has accepted me. He should be allowed to live. I am sure that you will be able to work out a punishment that allows him to remain alive. He is still a loyal ally."

"Loyal? The traitor just tried to kill you."

"And if a trick that simple had killed me then I would not have been a worthy mate." Kagome moved closer to him, dropping her voice down to the softest of whispers. "Come on, jo-chan, just kick him around a bit, he'll grovel, get something from him, then let it go. He'll owe you his life, and he'll still be a friendly neighbor. Sounds pretty good. Besides, you know he couldn't have killed me that easily. He had to know, his lands are affected, too. I need to drop this thing, I'm getting pretty damn dizzy. Are you going to kill him or not?"

Her hand was on Sesshomaru's arm again, bringing the rage back down. She was weaker now, but it was enough to make him slide Tokijin back into it's sheath. "Let the barrier down. His punishment will not include his death."

The barrier winked out of existence, leaving Merkamou unprotected with the great Lord of the Western Lands. Merkamou kept his hands at his sides, not offering any resistance when Sesshomaru pinned him to the ground, snarling.

"Idiot. You knew I would kill you for striking her. She does not want you to die, so instead you will wish you had."

"My lands depend on your strength against the Lord of the East. I was willing to risk my life to ensure that your rule would continue and my lands would be safe." Merkamou glared back at the inu-youkai. "Do as you will."

Sesshomaru threw him into several trees, slammed him to the ground, and overall took out quite a bit of frustration in punishing Merkamou. When it was over several guards had to help carry Merkamou back up to the palace, since the lord's leg was broken in two places. Rin had been hustled back up to the palace as soon as the brawl started, but Kagome stayed to make sure that things did not get out of hand. There was no poison used, and Tokijin stayed at Sesshomaru's hip. Merkamou would recover in a day or so, perhaps a bit less impulsive. Overall, Kagome was pleased with the way the altercation had turned out, even if she had been rather unnerved by watching Sesshomaru batter his ally into a bloody pulp.

After Merkamou had been dragged away, Kagome found herself alone with Sesshomaru. Guards were not needed when she was with the youkai lord, and they had all beat a hasty retreat to the palace with Merkamou. Kagome sighed, standing from her seat in the grass and cautiously approaching the youkai. He was splattered with blood, none of it his own, but he looked somewhat calmer. 'Perhaps he really needed a good workout.'

"Sesshomaru?"

"How were you calming me earlier."

Kagome gulped. 'Probably didn't like that much.' "Um, just kind of did it. I don't know how, but I was trying to calm you down, and when I touched your arm I could feel you just relax. Not all the way, of course, but you weren't going to kill him. It may be from being a miko, or it may be from being a mate. I don't know, I'm not a very good miko and I've never been a mate before. Are you angry?"

"No. It prevented me from acting in blind rage. I should have you near me when I deal with my advisors, perhaps more of them would live to see retirement."

Air rushed into Kagome's lungs as she started to breathe again. 'That's the Sesshomaru I know, morbid sense of humor and all.' Now she could confidently walk up to him, glancing him over for any injuries. "Did you hurt yourself pummeling him?"

"No. It was pleasant to release some frustration."

"Lets not make a habit of that, though. Come on, we need to get you cleaned up before the rest of Merkamou's group arrives. It's going to be hard enough to deal with them when they see what happened to their lord, having you still covered in his blood will probably not help."

"Most likely not." Sesshomaru fell in step with Kagome as they moved through the gardens and back up to the palace. "Perhaps it would send an appropriate message, though."

"I think the message will be received when they see their lord. It's not like you were trying to be subtle or anything."

"Hai."

----

'This is not how it was described in the brochure.'

Dinner had been a nightmare, with the important members of Merkamou's retinue joining them. The usual family style meal had become a formal affair, and had struck Kagome down with a massive headache. Merkamou had been absent, still in his room recovering, which left his group without supervision. Only the threat of Sesshomaru's violence had kept them in line. They were evidently upset by what had happened.

'Go figure.' Kagome dragged herself back out of bed, pulling on a robe. 'I didn't eat a thing at dinner, too busy trying to keep them from starting a fight. Sesshomaru is still stuck with the bickering advisors, so I'm going to find myself something to eat.'

Escorted by her guards Kagome moved through the mostly silent palace. Passing by the reception hall she could hear the advisors bickering. Sesshomaru was bored and annoyed, but seemed to be ignoring them for the most part. A good thing, too, since that meant he was not going to go on a killing spree. Further on she found the kitchen, where there were still lamps on. 'Who else could be up at this hour?'

Jaken was perched next to a table, a large bottle of sake in front of him. He saw her in the door way, and gave a little hiccup. "Miko! Come in, have a drink. I wish to toast our lord!"

"Jaken, where have you been? I haven't seen you in days." Kagome did not mind the little toad, he may be rude and patronizing, but he was loyal and did try to protect Rin.

"Ah, I had a special mission for Sesshomaru-sama, but I'm not supposed to tell you about it. I don't want to ruin his surprise." A loud slurp and yet some more sake had disappeared into the tiny servant. "Here, miko, we will toast to Sesshomaru-sama!"

"I don't drink sake, Jaken." Kagome tried to push it away, but Jaken was looking at her with horrified eyes.

"What? You would refuse such a fine sake and would not toast Sesshomaru-sama?"

'It smells like paint thinner.' Kagome sighed, swirling the liquid about. "Is it any good?"

"It is the nectar of the gods, miko. Now, to Sesshomaru-sama!"

"To Sesshomaru-sama." Kagome tried to imitate Jaken and down her drink in one gulp, but she ended up choking and wheezing. "Are you trying to poison me, toad? That burns!"

"It's supposed to burn, then you know it's the real thing! Quit your whining."

Kagome gave him a thunk on the head. "You could have warned me."

"Try it again, it won't burn as much." Jaken poured another drink for her. "The first one is always a little rough."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Jaken, I don't want to get drunk." Kagome was pushing her drink away, already feeling a bit light headed.

"Miko, even you should be able to handle a second drink of sake. Then you can go about your business." Jaken held up his drink, glaring at Kagome until she lifted hers. "To the Western Lands."

"To the Western Lands." Kagome squeezed her eyes shut and gulped down the liquid fire. "Wheeuw, Jaken, it may have been better, but not by much."

"Weak ningen. You can defeat Naraku, but sake is too much? I will never understand your race."

That earned him another thunk on the head. Kagome wandered around the kitchen, rummaging up some fruit as a snack and bringing it over to the table. A small giggle escaped her when she saw Jaken rubbing his head. "Sorry, Jaken, didn't mean to hit you so hard."

"You are the most disrespectful female I've met since Rin!"

"And you are the most pompous and annoying youkai I've met since Sesshomaru!"

"So there."

"There."

Kagome broke down into giggles again. She was feeling pretty good, all warm and happy. 'Hmm, maybe this sake stuff isn't so bad.' "Come on, Jaken, what have you been up to?"

"Nothing! You aren't supposed to know! I've brought it back, and now Sesshomaru will decide when to give it to you."

"Give it to me? Did I get a present?"

"What? Leave it alone, miko! Can't you think about anything else?"

A groan escaped Kagome. "Just the twenty-six youkai that invaded today. They are in everything and eat like vultures. How long are they going to be here for?"

"A week, most likely."

"Ugh, and with Merkamou flat out, there is nothing to control them! Hand me another drink, Jaken."

"Hai!" Jaken poured two more drinks. "What shall we toast to?"

"Chaos!"

Jaken shrugged. "To chaos!"

The two collapsed with laughter, leaning on the table with tears streaming down their faces. Merkamou had been looking for something to take back to his room when he found the two laughing hysterically. Carefully to not bump he splinted leg, he eased into the room, fascinated with the change in the miko.

Jaken noticed him first. "Merkamou-sama, you should also have a drink, you would need one after today!" The toad poured a glass for the youkai lord and pushed it over.

Kagome was still giggling as Merkamou carefully sat down at the table. "Kagome-sama? Is this allowed?"

"Oh, for pity's sake, youkai. Your best stories involve sake. If I held a grudge for every person that has tried to kill me I wouldn't have any friends. And Jaken's right, you probably need it more than we do." Kagome tried to look stern, but it dissolved back down into giggles. "I thought you had to watch the advisors fight."

"It is Sesshomaru-sama's turn. He is in better shape to deal with them right now." Merkamou downed his drink in one gulp. "Oh, yes, that is good sake."

"See, miko? I told you that it was good sake! You have no taste for the finer things in life." Jaken was bouncing up and down and waving his tiny fists.

"You are going to get knocked into the wall if you don't knock it off, toad." Kagome growled at the imp, making him stop waving his fists at her.

"Fine, fine. You have exquisite taste, for a ningen."

Kagome took a swing, but missed and ended up on her back on the floor, laughing. Jaken stared, then started to snort with laughter. Merkamou helped himself to another drink. Evidently he had a lot of catching up to do.

----

"So, tell me about when you met Sesshomaru." Kagome was feeling pretty happy with everything right then, and she wanted to know more about her mate.

"Oh, I met him when he was just born. I am about 50 years older than him, so I came with my parents to see my ally's heir. He was kind of cute, for a dog, but boring. He was more entertaining when I came to visit a couple of decades later. He tried to chase me up a tree and got stuck. His mother was furious. So was mine, but that was nothing new." Merkamou took another drink, smiling to himself. "He was a feisty little thing. I used to taunt him until he would go after me with those little claws of his. I was so disappointed when he turned out to be so boring."

Kagome had her head on her hand, staring at him. "So you've known him his whole life. Cool."

"Cool?"

"Never mind. Any really good stories that would be embarrassing?"

"Oh, he usually tried to stay out of trouble. Very worried about his dignity and honor and such nonsense. We did gang up on some cats one time, since they were insulting us both. We went up into a tree and waited for them to come out. They liked to hang out in the same spot, enjoying the sun or some such nonsense. We hauled a whole bunch of stuff thrown out from the kitchen up with us. They never saw it coming. I can still remember them running around, fish guts in their hair."

Jaken and Kagome were rolling. "Sesshomaru threw fish guts on some cat youkai? That is priceless!" Kagome could barely breathe. "You have got to tell me more about him as a pup."

----

"Unacceptable. We will not move that border one length if you will not reconsider the fishing rights."

'If I just killed them all it would be so much easier.' Sesshomaru's hand itched to draw Tokijin and silence this nonsense. 'Where is that Merkamou? He should have been back by now.'

Growling, Sesshomaru moved out of the room, leaving the advisors on their own. 'Let them kill each other, it will save me the effort.'

Moving down the hallway he could hear voices coming from the kitchen. Singing voices. As he moved towards the lighted room, he could make out the words to a rather bawdy drinking song. Inside the kitchen he found his vassal, his mate, and his ally sharing a bottle of sake and singing very loudly. Kagome's eyes swung to his, smiling brightly. A little bit too brightly, and he cheeks were pink. 'She is drunk.'

"Sesshomaru, you should come in and take a break from the damn advisors. This trouble maker is teaching us some new songs." Kagome poked Merkamou, making him turn around and grin at Sesshomaru.

"Ah, Sesshomaru-sama, are they done, or did you just kill them?"

Cold eyes stared at the trio. "They are still bickering."

"Then you will need a drink to renew your strength. Come, Kagome was going to teach us a song from her lands that she promises is most inappropriate."

"The advisors are not supervised." Sesshomaru was glaring at Kagome, who was looking a bit sheepish. "You were going to sleep."

"I wanted a snack." Kagome gave him her best big, innocent eyes.

"Oh, Sesshomaru, do not worry about her. She can take care of herself. Right, miko?"

"I'll go to bed soon, I promise. As soon as I remember where it is." The miko collapsed laughing, taking Jaken with her. Merkamou was trying to hang on, but the laughter was escaping as he watched Kagome convulsing with giggles on the floor.

"Damn, Sesshomaru, does this miko have a sister? She is just about the most entertainment I have seen since you fell in the koi pond." Merkamou was slowly pulling himself to his feet. "But it looks like I need to return to the advisors, and I am sure you want to move your miko. Can not have her spending the night in the kitchen, she would be very cranky in the morning."

Merkamou chuckled all the way out the door.

Sesshomaru found Jaken passed out next to the giggling miko. Sighing, Sesshomaru lifted Kagome up, carrying her back to her room. "Exactly how much sake did you have?"

"Five, I think. I only remember five, anyways. I'm a lightweight."

"Hai." Sesshomaru slid open the door to his room. The miko was still giggling and hanging on to his haori.

"It is time for you to sleep, Kagome. I must return to the advisors."

Kagome pouted as he tucked her into bed. "Don't take too long. Just knock their heads together until they do what you want."

Sesshomaru turned to leave. "Stay put, Kagome. You are helpless right now, and there are some that do not agree with Merkamou's decision."

"I'm not helpless." Kagome's hands flickered as she picked them up. It didn't last long as Kagome started to doze off. "I'll purify your ass into . . . next . . . year."

The miko's eyes had slid closed and her breathing was becoming deep and regular. Sesshomaru came back across the room, pushing her hair away from her face and kissing her forehead. "Foolish miko." He indulged himself by breathing in her scent, watching her as she slept for a moment before leaving to deal with the advisors.

'Yes, I believe that knocking some heads together is the best solution. Merkamou will be willing to assist, I have no doubt. Then I can return to my rooms and her.'


	22. Urgent Matter

A/N: Please, no flames. You know, this was actually the hardest chapter in the entire story to write. If you do not enjoy fluff, you might want to stop after the first section. You don't need the rest for the plot, but I'm leaving it in because it's character development and I like it and I'm the author so I get to do what I want. -pout- I know Kagome would so do this. I am sure that some will say that Sesshy is out of character at the end, but I am going to stand by it. It is amazing what people will do when they are bored enough. Enjoy this little piece of fluff while I set up the next chapter, which is refusing to submit. -pins computer to the floor- I promise violence and burning and death in plenty for the next chapter. Ah, well. I still don't own any of them.

----

"Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Hai."

"How did I get here?"

Kagome had her hand to her head, trying to remember last night. "I remember Merkamou coming in, and Jaken was there. I don't remember much past that."

"You were singing." Sesshomaru rolled over to look at her. "Merkamou was teaching you drinking songs, and your singing could be heard halfway to the reception hall."

"No! Really? Did I do anything else?"

"I had to carry you to your bed, and you threatened to 'purify my ass into next year'."

"Umm, I didn't burn you, did I?"

A soft chuckle rumbled through Sesshomaru's chest as he brushed some hair away from her face. "No, miko, you were much too far gone for that. You dozed off before you could complete your threat."

An answering giggle came from Kagome, but it was cut off as she pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. "Oh, no laughing. My head feels like it is going to explode."

"Perhaps you overindulged last night. Do you think that is a possibility?"

Kagome gave him a glare. "I cannot deal with sarcasm when there is a large youkai trying to escape from inside of my skull."

To her surprise Sesshomaru ran his fingers down her cheek with a hint of sympathy. "You will feel better after you have had some tea and breakfast."

"Oh, no, don't say the 'b' word. Can't I just stay in bed and be sick?"

The bed shifted as Sesshomaru sat up and stretched. "You would leave Merkamou's entourage under my supervision?"

"With the condition I'm in they will be safer with you than with me. If anyone raises their voice and they are going to be a pile of ash. Can you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Put me out of my misery." Kagome had her hands over her eyes, trying to ignore the large youkai rampaging about on her brain.

"Come now, Kagome, or I will have Rin help you to rise." Sesshomaru slid out of bed before Kagome's wild swing could catch him. Despite his teasing, he did feel sympathy for her. He could feel that her body was in open revolt against her, but lying in bed would not help her to feel better. Kagome protested when he lifted her to her feet, but she stayed up. "Lying in bed will not help your body to recover."

Kagome staggered to her own room, surprising Kumo. "My lady, you are up early!"

"Shh, quiet voices." The miko sat on the edge of her bed. "I don't suppose I could get some strong tea before I go down to breakfast. Hopefully something that will help with a headache."

'Ah, so she was the female voice singing last night.' Kumo bowed and went off to the kitchens, catching Rin as she was about to leap into Kagome's room. "Quietly, my lady, Kagome-sama is not feeling well."

Rin nodded vigorously, then quietly slipped into the room. "Are you sick, Kagome-chan?"

"Sort of, Jo-chan. I have a headache. Kumo is going to bring some tea for me that will help so I can go to breakfast." Kagome forced a little smile so the girl would not be worried.

"Rin will be quiet. Rin does not know if Merkamou-sama's friends will be quiet, though. They are very loud."

"Hai." The thought of facing those youkai made Kagome's stomach flip over. "But we must be good hosts and join them for breakfast."

Kumo brought back a small pot of tea and a cup for her lady, and then started to pull out her clothing for the day. Since they had company she could not get away with eating in her usual clothes, instead she would wear a nice kimono and change after she ate. Since Merkamou was convinced of her fighting skills, she would focus once again on being a lady.

Once she was dressed and groomed Kagome met Sesshomaru in the hall outside of his room. 'Thank goodness we aren't late, I couldn't run if I wanted to. I am never touching that evil stuff again!'

Their guests began to wander in well after they had started. Merkamou was the first, followed slowly by the rest of his servants. The youkai lord looked much better then he had the night before, with only a slight limp to show that his leg had been broken. He looked positively chipper, making Kagome want to throw a plate at him.

"Sesshomaru-sama, Kagome-sama, fledgling." Merkamou dropped into his place by Sesshomaru and took a deep drink of his tea. "Ah, a lovely morning."

Kagome made a face at him before returning to her own breakfast, trying to convince her body to accept the idea of food. Her stomach was having none of it, and it was still debating over the tea. Plain rice did not cause too much protest, so Kagome focused on the safest food available.

Unfortunately, Merkamou's presence did little to settle his servants. They were still looking askance at Kagome. Of course, the miko was not terribly aware of their looks, focusing on making it through the meal as their conversations got louder around her. Sesshomaru, however, was very aware of the discussions around him, and he did not like some of the whispers he was hearing.

"I can hardly eat with the ningen stench in here." One of the young nobles was whispering to his neighbor, unaware that Sesshomaru was perfectly able to hear him. "Sesshomaru is too soft for this position if he will take that filthy creature as a mate."

It took Kagome a moment to realize that Sesshomaru had moved, and that he had one of the nobles by the throat. Merkamou looked a little surprised, and rather amused.

"Sesshomaru-sama, what did the fool say? Your ears are much better then mine." Merkamou had a small smile on as he watched Sesshomaru dig his claws into the lesser youkai's neck.

"You dare to speak so of this Sesshomaru's mate?" Claws tightened around the youkai's throat, threatening to remove his head completely. Blood was running down to his shirt as the youkai hung onto Sesshomaru's wrist, fighting for air.

The miko had finally caught up with the activity. 'Baka. He should know better than to whisper in front of an inu-youkai.' She crossed her arms and watched with a blank expression. "Are you going to kill him now, my lord, or do you wish to send him to the dungeons first?" In her mind, the miko was screaming, hoping the enraged youkai would be swayed. 'Not in front of Rin! Not in front of Rin!'

"Sesshomaru-sama, I will kill him. I have made my decision. He has gone against it and slandered your mate. He is my responsibility, and I will take care of it." Merkamou moved to glare at the noble, his hand on the hilt of his blade.

Sesshomaru dropped the youkai to the floor. "He is not worthy of your time, Merkamou-sama. I will have a guard take care of him. Take this filth out of my sight."

As though Sesshomaru's words had created them, a pair of guards came in to drag the unfortunate noble out. The rest of the retinue were silent, gaping at Merkamou and Sesshomaru. No one dared to look at the miko. Sesshomaru returned to his seat, glaring at the guests. Merkamou looked content with the meal, savoring his tea. "Sesshomaru-sama, I must ask your housekeeper where this tea is purchased, it is wonderful."

Kagome met Sesshomaru's gaze, then gave him a small smile. She turned to Rin, trying to distract the rather pale girl. "Jo-chan, you should have some more breakfast. I'm sure that the Captain will work you hard today."

Rin nodded, helping herself to some more food as the nobles slowly came back to life. Merkamou made small talk, perfectly happy with Sesshomaru's monosyllabic answers.

"Merkamou-sama, do you think that you would have time to escort Rin to her weapon's practice today? I would appreciate it very much, I have a few projects that require my attention." Kagome ignored Sesshomaru's confusion and smiled at Merkamou.

"Kagome-sama, it would be an honor. Well, fledgling? Are you ready? I would enjoy helping you embarrass some more youkai if you are interested."

Manners flew out the window, again. "Hai, Merkamou-sama!" Rin darted around the table, waiting for her new partner at the door with an impatient expression.

"It would seem that my meal is over. Sesshomaru-sama, I will meet with you after watching over your fledgling." Merkamou made a small bow, before following the running girl out the door.

'What projects does she have?' Sesshomaru was watching Kagome, trying to figure out what she was up to.

"My lord, may I be excused?" Kagome's face was completely blank, giving away nothing.

"Hai."

In her own rooms Kagome caught up with Kumo. "Okay, Kumo, we have one hour to deal with whatever disasters have come up for the celebration tonight. Then I have a meeting with Sesshomaru for a big chunk of the day and I won't be able to answer any more questions until this afternoon. Oh, yeah, and we are down one guest."

"We are 'down' one guest? Where has this person gone?" Kumo was fairly certain of the answer, but it was best to not make assumptions.

"Oh, he's probably about six feet under right now. The fool decided to say something nasty about me in front of Sesshomaru. At least he decided not to kill him right in front of Rin. For a second I thought he was going to, but he sent the idiot out with the guards to finish it." Kagome rubbed her head. "We have to get everything set for tonight, so we need to work on that and not gossip. Lets go to the kitchens, we can catch up with the cook and get another pot of that tea for my head."

----

Sesshomaru had been listening to the advisors bicker for three days and his patience was nearly gone. His hand was on Tokijin, making the advisors even more anxious and combative. When the doors slammed open he considered just slaughtering whoever had come in, then rethought it when he picked up the scent of the intruder.

"My lord, there is a matter that requires your immediate attention." Kagome glared at the advisors, daring them to argue with her.

One of the advisors whimpered, looking up at the lord. "But, but my lord, these laws . . ."

"Will wait." Sesshomaru swept out of the room, following Kagome out of the palace and through the gardens. Once they were moving into the forest, Kagome started to giggle.

"What are you doing, miko? What is this urgent matter?"

"Saving your sanity. Come on, one of the guards told me about this spot." Kagome grabbed onto his sleeve and dragged him through the woods. After a walk of fifteen minutes they came across a small clearing with a waterfall. The woods were peaceful, with the waterfall adding a pleasant, soothing sound. "Oh, Yukio was not lying. This is lovely."

"This is the urgent matter?" Sesshomaru was caught somewhere between annoyance and relief.

"You needed to get out of that room. Those advisors just love having you trapped in there, and you are ready to kill them all. They can't make any final decisions without you, so you are going to take a break. Sit down." Kagome had her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

Sesshomaru glared back at her, then moved to sit with his back to a boulder. Kagome dropped down next to him, leaning on his shoulder. "And what are we going to do out here?"

"Nothing. We are going to relax and stay away long enough that both of our heads stop pounding. And don't even pretend you don't have a headache. When you have a headache, I have one." The chest under Kagome rose and fell with a sigh.

"It has been a stressful visit."

"No kidding. It looks like it is going to work out, though. Merkamou has decided to accept me. After this morning the rest of his little group should fall into line. You may have gotten them to do the impossible, accept a ningen as your mate."

"They had no choice. You are my mate."

Kagome shivered a little at his voice, which was laced with intensity. "It is easier with the lords' support, though. Why waste energy on a war? Sure, it was annoying letting Merkamou be a jerk, but it paid off in the end. Instead of an enemy, there is one more person who will protect me."

A low growl rumbled through the clearing. "My patience is gone. The next to lay a hand on you or speak badly of you will not live long enough to consider his mistake."

"Merkamou will not make that mistake again, since he has accepted me. If any of his nobles do, though, they are too stupid to live. After this morning, they would have to be brain dead to try anything. No one would expect you to let them live either, least of all me. I would really rather not have people trying to kill me anymore." Kagome slid down so she was lying with her head in his lap, watching the clouds. "It's almost over. Then we can settle back down and find other things to start a war over."

A gentle finger moved Kagome's hair back behind her ear. "Hai. Then we can find time to get on each other's nerves again, instead of having strangers driving us to distraction."

A sweet smile appeared on Kagome's face, the sun shining off of her hair. "I can hardly wait."

Sesshomaru bent low and brushed a kiss over Kagome's lips, then tipped his head back against the boulder and forced himself to relax. Kagome had enough of a headache without adding one from his stress. He trailed his fingers through her hair, enjoying the sound of her. 'This was a good idea, koishii. You are right, it is almost over, and we may make it through this week with only the one death.'

"That one looks like a horse." Kagome was pointing up at the clouds. "Do you see it?"

"I see clouds." He barely even glanced up, focusing on Kagome.

"Oh, no you don't. Come on, it's a game! That one way over there looks like a tree in the wind, see? Now you find one."

"What is the point of this?"

Kagome gave him a glare. "You are going to relax and have fun, even if I have to beat it into you. Now, before I get violent and leave some smoldering holes in your clothes, find a shape in the clouds already!"

There was a brief battle of wills, each glaring at their partner. The first to look away was Sesshomaru, looking up at the clouds. 'Humor her, or I will get no peace.' "A tiger."

"Where?" Kagome sat up so she could look down his arm as he pointed to a large cloud.

"It is a sitting tiger."

"Hey, that was a good one! My turn. Umm, over there, I see Jaken! See, his silly hat, and his mouth is open of course."

"The large cloud just over the trees, it resembles a dragon."

"Where?" Now the miko had her face alongside his, trying to see the dragon. "I don't see it."

Sesshomaru put his arm around her waist, taking a deep breath to savor her unique scent. "There, you can see the tail."

"No, that's a bird." Kagome had her head tipped to the side. "See, that's the wing right over there."

"That is a dragon." There was a hint of a growl. 'It is her inane game, and now she will tell me what the clouds look like?'

"Don't be ridiculous. That is a bird."

"Miko."

"What? I have to see the same thing as you?" Kagome was trying to give him a stern glare, but it was proving difficult. "I see a bird and you can't make me see a dragon!"

"Stubborn and defiant."

"Hey! No name calling." Kagome gave him a good shove, catching him off guard and tipping him over. Sesshomaru growled and grabbed her as he went, pinning her down. She was laughing so hard that she could barely breathe. "Let me go, you bully!"

"Dragon."

"Bird."

Sesshomaru had her hands trapped above her head, rumbling deep in his chest. "Dragon."

"Stop it! You big, mean, youkai!"

"Hai?"

"Okay, okay. Dragon." Kagome slowly straightened up as he released her, her side aching from laughing so hard. She stood and stretched, trying to work out the aches. "A very bird shaped dragon."

Squealing, Kagome took off across the clearing, running from the inu-youkai that had just launched himself after her. She knew she didn't have a chance, but she had to try anyways. A heavy weight tackled her from behind, sending her back to the grass.

"Miko."

"Youkai."

His mate was gasping for air and giggling, squirming underneath him as he held her to the grass. He nipped at the back of her neck, dragging his mouth down to her shoulder. Her giggles turned to gasps at his new assault. 'She is delicious, even when she is driving me to distraction with silly games. I have not felt this good for some time now. Stubborn, defiant . . . clever miko.'

"Mine." The low growl whispered past Kagome's ear, making her shiver.

She turned her head, looking back at Sesshomaru and locking eyes with him. "Mine," she growled back at him. Lust flashed through her eyes, feeling the rising heat in her mate.

"Yours." He whispered, his breath hot against her ear.

"Yours," she replied.

----

Memories of the pleasant afternoon made it easier to ignore the incessant bickering. Merkamou sat next to Sesshomaru, the two bored lords not even aware of what the advisors were arguing about now.

"Do you ever consider just slaughtering the whole lot?" Merkamou leaned over so that he could whisper to the Lord of the Western Lands.

"Every day."

Two pairs of gold eyes glazed over with boredom as the advisors bickered.

"Perhaps we could play a game of Go while we wait? Or plot a war? There must be something more constructive that we could be doing. You are not much of a gossip, so that path is blocked." Humor was glowing in Merkamou's eyes. "Or perhaps you have a suggestion on ways to pass the time."

'I prefer to pass my time alone with my mate by a waterfall, but that does not seem to be an option at this time.' Options seemed to be rather thin, and Kagome had been very clear that he was not supposed to go on a murderous rage in the palace. It might upset Rin. "I will send a servant to find Go."

Relief was evident on Merkamou's face. "Sesshomaru-sama, I am once again in your debt."

The advisors hardly noticed as the two youkai proceeded to play their game. Sesshomaru very rarely played, he only learned the rules out of curiosity when he was a pup. At this point, however, anything was better than watching the underlings argue.

"How did you come across this miko that you are taking as your mate?" Merkamou had been very curious about how a powerful miko had become mixed up with this inu-youkai.

"She battled Naraku, she was there when he was defeated." It was strange to discuss anything with a lord, one who was in the same social class as himself even if he was not an equal. Not necessarily unpleasant, his rather stubborn mate was getting him used to the idea of conversation.

"Before that. You had to have met her before that battle, unless she just happened to be in the area and felt like bringing a filthy hanyou down."

"She traveled with my half brother. When I first met her she attacked me to defend him."

Merkamou bit back his laughter. "Ah. I have never had a female attempt to seduce me in that particular manner, but perhaps they should think about it."

A cold glare marred Sesshomaru's perfect expression. "I was trying to kill her at the time."

"Really? Most interesting. And yet she is here, and does not seem to want to cause you any permanent harm."

"A most peculiar development, yes. However unexpected, it has become a most satisfactory situation."

"Certainly, Sesshomaru-sama. She is a fetching and entertaining female that fights like a fury. A rare combination, and one worth fighting for."

"Hai."


	23. I Need You

A/N: I love you guys! Thanks for all of the kind reviews of my fluff. As promised, I now present violence, injuries, and even a little death. But I doubt you are here to listen to my chatter. Enjoy the fight scene, I thought we were due for a little violence. I own nothin'.

----

"Are you trying to kill me? Kumo, have you turned against me and decided to end my life?"

"Kagome-sama, do not be ridiculous. It is just one final layer."

"Kami, I can't breathe in here!"

Kumo settled the last kimono into place, face shining with pride at the beautiful figure in front of her. Finally, her lady looked the part. Every piece of clothing, every strand of hair, every piece of jewelry was in place and exquisite. Layers and layers of rich silk floated around her while rich combs shimmered in her hair. She looked stunning, the picture of a proper noble lady.

'Oxygen would be nice.' Kagome could barely walk, the layers she wore forming a train behind her and swirling around her feet. She already felt warm, and Kumo had just finished dressing her. Why was she wearing so many clothes? It made no sense; you could barely see some of these layers. Kumo pulled her over to the mirror so she could see what the hours of work had produced.

"Oh, Kumo." Kagome stared at the reflection. As much as she was a modern girl, and as much as she hated the fact that she could not move, the sight took her breath away. She looked like a princess from a story. Somehow, the ordinary girl had become a beautiful lady, even if it was only for one night. 'And my Prince Charming is waiting for me.' She could feel Sesshomaru outside of her door, waiting. 'And he's irritated. I don't know why, this stupid party isn't supposed to start till sundown.'

"Rin-sama, quit fidgeting." Kumo straightened Rin's obi again, trying to keep the little bundle of energy looking like a young lady.

"Yeah, Jo-chan, no complaining. You're only wearing about half as many layers as I am."

"Hai, Kagome-chan. It's just weird." Rin forced her hands to leave her obi alone. Again. While she was not wearing nearly as decadent an outfit as Kagome, Rin was still out of sorts in her fancy clothes. Her sword was at her side, as always, and it did give her some comfort. Well, that and the fact that she could actually walk in her clothes, unlike Kagome-chan.

"Kagome-sama, we should move to the reception hall and make one last check." Kumo tucked one of Rin's combs back into place as she spoke, fighting a losing battle with the girl's unruly hair.

"Go ahead with Rin, Kumo, I'll catch up after I find that darn fan." The fan had eluded them all afternoon.

"Kagome-sama, you have five other fans you could take."

"I know, but I really liked that one, and it went with this kimono so well. I just want to look one more time, I swear I saw it in the closet."

"Very well, my lady." Kumo herded Rin out the door and off to the kitchen. Her voice echoed back down the hallway. "Yes, my lord, she is still in the room, she is looking for something."

'He can wait for a minute. Damn arrogant bastard.' Up on a shelf she found her missing fan under some of her clothes. Kagome did a little victory dance as she carefully backed out of the closet, trying not to trip over anything or mess up her hair.

"Kagome."

"Eep!" She spun around to find Sesshomaru standing right behind her. "When did you come in here?"

"If you were paying attention you would know exactly where I am." Amusement was threatening to destroy his bland expression. "There is something I wish to give to you."

"Nani?" A small wooden box was offered to her, and she took it as though it was made with glass. Gently she slid the box open, revealing the contents. A beautiful pendant glimmered from the silk lined interior. It was in the shape of a crescent moon with a fabulous blue stone in the center. Kagome gasped as she lifted the necklace out. The silver pendant hung from a delicate chain that was a work of art in its own right. "Sesshomaru. . . "

"It belonged to my mother." Sesshomaru watched with a guarded expression as Kagome stared at the pendant, looking entranced. 'She already knows what this is, what it means. It would mean that she has accepted me. She has said that she will stay, but this is the final commitment.'

'I know what this is.' Kagome could not tear her eyes away from the gorgeous necklace. 'He called it a mark, a sign of acceptance. If I take it, it means that this is official.'

'And your point is?'

'Hush, you. I know, I know, it's a moot point now anyways. I am his. And he is mine.' Kagome set the box down on a table, then held the necklace out to Sesshomaru. He went slightly pale, his eyes searching hers.

"Can you help me to put it on?"

Relief flooded his expression as Sesshomaru carefully took the necklace. Kagome turned around, allowing Sesshomaru to slip the necklace around her neck. The pendant glowed with it's own fire as it rested against the many layers of silk. Kagome gazed at it, her eyes soft with emotion. 'I will never take it off.'

Soft hands pulled Sesshomaru's haori, pressing his body to hers. "Mine," she growled, her mouth covering his. His answering growl was lost in the kiss.

With a frustrated groan Kagome broke away, one hand already moving to check her hair. "Damn. We have to stop for now, or Kumo will have to start all over again. We will finish this later tonight, when we are alone and I don't have to worry about messing up the hair."

'I do not care about her hair or her gowns.' It was a great struggle, but Sesshomaru brought himself back under control. "Later."

"Come on, if we don't get out of here quickly I'm going to change my mind. Lets get this nightmare over with so we can go back to fighting with each other instead of strangers."

----

'It is just for one night. I can deal with this. If I get one more hairy eyeball directed my way I'm setting Sesshomaru on the lot of them.' Kagome and Rin stuck together, trying to ignore the nasty looks. Her mate was off dealing with some argument or another, leaving her to her own devices.

"Come on, Jo-chan, I want some fresh air." Surrounded by guards the two ningen moved out into the gardens. The cool night air was a relief after being stuck with the unpleasant youkai.

'Just when I thought the hostility level couldn't get any higher, I show up with his family crest. Great. I think I'll ask Merkamou to send most of them home tomorrow. He'd do it for me, he's such a softie when I give him the big eyes.' Her guards were on high alert as they made their way to the koi pond.

"Kagome-chan, when are they leaving?" Rin's fingers were running along the hilt of her sword; stress in her every line.

"I'll ask Merkamou-sama tomorrow if some of them can go home. This is our home, Jo-chan, and we should be comfortable in it. Come on, we need to get back to Sesshomaru-sama before he starts to worry. Or starts a fight."

Rin giggled. "Maybe he should start a fight."

"Naughty, Jo-chan. He's not supposed to beat up his allies." Kagome tickled the little girl, making her giggle. "He doesn't need any encouragement either."

That feeling of threat seized Kagome again, making her snap her head up, looking for the source. Her guards were already being brought down, grunts and yells erupting as they were attacked from all sides. A barrier flashed to life, protecting herself and Rin, as the attackers finished off her guards and closed on the two females.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Kagome looked around her, making out shapes in the flickering light of the lanterns. There were many figures, at least a dozen, but she could feel more in the dark. More like two dozen.

"Unworthy bitch. You die tonight."

There was a hiss as Rin drew her sword. Kagome had a slightly different plan.

"SESSHOMARU!"

"Save your breath, ningen. Do you think you are the only one that can erect a barrier? He cannot hear you or see you now. Will you at least die well, or will you die with screams on your filthy lips?" The shapes were moving again, some were striking her barrier, testing it.

Kagome could just barely make out the edge of the barrier around her as a deep blue shimmer, about fifty feet away from her. Between her and that outer barrier were many angry, armed youkai. Rin was in a guard position, glaring at the enemy.

"You will not touch her. _I won't let you_" The small girl glared around the group as she challenged all of the attackers. Kagome was distracted from her plotting by the change in the little girl.

'Rin? No, focus Kagome, you have to get out of this. He can't hear you, so how do you get help? You can't take them all on yourself. You need something loud, outside of the barrier. An explosion. I would give anything right now for my bow and arrows.'

Desperate eyes found a tree just outside of the barriers, a big target. Kagome cast about for something to use as a weapon. She had her dagger, but she was reluctant to throw it away. What could she use? A plan formed in the miko's mind as she shrugged out of unbound kimonos. She snatched her dagger from her obi, determination on her face as she ran the edge of the blade across the back of her arm. 'He can't see me or hear me, but I bet he will be able to smell that. Oh, ouch! That stings worse than I thought it would. Now for the explosion.'

The pink barrier pulsed as the youkai continued to attack, wearing her down. Kagome snatched a comb out of her hair, holding it in her hands to charge it as she stared at the tree that would be her target. 'It's a long shot, but its my only chance.' She threw the comb, glowing like one of her arrows and flying straight to her target. It flashed once as it passed her barrier, then flashed again as it flew through the second barrier.

The explosion rocked the grounds, knocking several of the nearby youkai down and cutting them with flying debris.

'That should get his attention.' Kagome sank to her knees, desperately holding up her barrier as the youkai swarmed and pounded on it. They knew that Sesshomaru would be on his way, and that they had to overwhelm the miko now.

"Jo-chan, we're in trouble. Sesshomaru better get here fast." Kagome threw more of her energy into the barrier, making it pulse and burn the youkai that were touching it. She pulled another comb from her hair, charging it. She glared at her attackers, picking out the one that had spoken to her. Her comb flashed as it flew through her barrier and slammed into the youkai, purifying him and leaving a pile of ash.

The traitors fell back, staring at the pile of ash that had been their leader. As one they swarmed her barrier again, attacking with anything they had. Kagome sent another pulse of energy through her barrier, burning any that were touching it, but the traitors did not care anymore. They knew that death was coming for them, and they were driven to finish their mission first.

Kagome's fingers went back to her hair, suddenly relieved that Kumo had spent so much time styling it and had used so many combs. Another comb flashed through the air, bringing down another of her opponents. Her stomach flipped over as her body was being drained of more and more of its energy.

'Sesshomaru, I need you.'

----

"My mate has requested that I not slaughter them."

"Maybe next time. Or you can come to visit my lands, and we can do it then." Merkamou was waving another noble away, trying for some peace.

A faint smell made Sesshomaru snap his head up. 'Blood? Kagome? Where is Kagome?'

"What is it, Sesshomaru?" Merkamou whispered.

"Blood."

Merkamou inhaled sharply. "Yes, very faint. Where is it? Wait, where are Kagome-sama and the fledgling?"

An explosion rocked through the palace. The flash of light was from the gardens, and Sesshomaru recognized that flash. "Kagome."

The two lords flew through the courtyard, following the scent of Kagome's blood and the burning remains of a tree. There was no sign of the miko, and no sounds of battle. Sesshomaru slammed into a barrier, snarling as he landed in a crouch. 'This is hiding my mate.' Tokijin flashed from its sheath, slamming into the barrier. There was a ripple, but the barrier still stood.

"Move." Merkamou put both of his hands on the barrier, eyes closed. The barrier started to pulse, showing the battle scene that had been hidden from their eyes. Kagome was on her knees, her own barrier flickering as she weakened. Rin was standing over her, sword drawn and ready to defend her friend from the crowd of youkai that were swarming around them. There was a flash as Kagome threw something, purifying one of their attackers.

The demon barrier pulsed twice more, then started to collapse.

----

"Rin, look!"

The barrier around their battle was pulsing, and now they could see Merkamou and Sesshomaru trying to get in.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" The little girl smiled in relief, seeing her hero appear. "Kagome-chan, they found us!"

"They better get in here fast." The pink shimmering barrier around them flickered again. Kagome had her fingers dug into the grass, trying to hold on long enough for the two taiyoukai to save them.

The demon barrier was collapsing, sending the attackers into frenzy. Not one, but two taiyoukai were waiting for them. Some of the attackers scrambled to flee, while the majority of them attacked the two lords, trying to overwhelm them. They held no illusions on their ability to flee, so they opted to fight.

With his mate and ward so close Sesshomaru could not unleash the full fury of Tokijin, and instead had to work his way through the attackers. These were not the low forms of youkai, these were nobles and warriors that had turned traitor. The two taiyoukai had a fight on their hands as they cut a swath through the traitors. What the attackers lacked in strength or skill they were making up for in numbers.

Only two of the youkai were still worrying about the ningens. Kagome knew her barrier was coming down; she had no strength left for it. She yanked her last comb out of her hair, charging it and flinging it at one of the remaining youkai. A terrible screech filled the air as he turned into a pile of ash. The last burst of effort cost Kagome her barrier, and it collapsed around her. She staggered to her feet, pulling out her dagger and trying to stay between the remaining youkai and Rin. "You're next if you don't run right now, bastard."

The youkai snarled back at her, flexing his claws. "You are too weak to make threats." He lunged forward, trying to get his claws in the miko. Kagome fell back, getting out of the way as best she could and trying to get a hand on him. The youkai was quicker, delivering a sharp blow to her side that sent her to the ground. Her side was bleeding from the three slashes the claws had given her.

"Keh – yah!" Rin attacked while the youkai was distracted by the miko. His back was to the little girl that he had completely forgotten. Reflexes that had been drilled into her took over as she slashed down with her sword, slamming into his leg and sending him to his knees in the dirt. Yanking her sword free, she slammed her blade into his back, burying it to the hilt. It was a struggle to pull the blade back out, but she knew she was not done yet.

_Youkai have a nasty way of coming back, fledgling. Don't just kill them, kill them a couple of times to make sure._

Rin slashed again, this time severing the youkai's head from his body. She felt the resistance as the sword passed through skin, muscle, and bone. For an instant she thought that she was not strong enough to finish the blow, but she made it. The youkai's body collapsed with his head a short distance away. Sucking in air and trying to not be sick, Rin turned back to Kagome. The miko was on her knees, staring at Rin.

"Arigato, Jo-chan."

----

Traitor after traitor fell under Tokijin. Merkamou's whirlwind of burning air cut a swath through the traitors, leaving behind desiccated corpses. The numbers were dwindling quickly, letting Sesshomaru look for his mate and ward. The Captain had joined Merkamou in cleaning up the mess, freeing Sesshomaru to take care of his mate. He found her in the same place as before, but with no barrier. Kagome was on her knees, guarded by Rin. And there was blood on Rin's blade.

Sesshomaru knelt at Kagome's side. "Where are you injured?"

"Nothing serious, just exhausted." She had never been so happy to see anyone in her entire life. "Are you injured?"

"Nothing more than grazes." Sesshomaru pulled Kagome's arm to him, looking at the self-inflicted cut. His eyes found the slashes in her kimonos, surrounded by a rapidly growing red stain. A low growl escaped him at the sight of her blood. "You are seriously injured, miko."

"I will be fine." Kagome kept a hand clamped over her side, trying to slow down the bleeding.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" Merkamou's voice boomed behind them, trying to warn the distracted lord. One of the remaining traitors had made a suicidal attempt to finish off the lord's mate. Unfortunately, he had also forgotten the little girl. He stood frozen with shock as he looked down at the tip of the sword sticking from his chest. Behind him Rin was white as alabaster. She pulled the sword from his back, trembling. Sesshomaru finished the attacker with a swipe of his claws, slashing through his neck so that his head was barely attached.

Rin had reached her limits. She staggered a short distance away and retched in the grass, falling to her knees. Merkamou was at her side, rubbing her shoulders. "Easy now, fledgling. You did well." The Captain was at her other side, scanning the area for more attackers. Now that his protégé was safe he would keep her that way.

Kagome struggled to her feet. She forced her exhausted body to move, staggering towards Rin.

Little sobs were escaping the young girl as the Captain lifted her up into his arms and carried her back to the palace. He went around the back of the palace, taking the long way up to Rin's room so she would not have to face the crowds that were coming from the palace now that it was safe. More guards were running about the property, making sure that the downed youaki were actually dead and looking for any survivors.

Kagome moved to follow the Captain, but Sesshomaru stopped her. "She will be fine. Now you must be seen. I will have the healer bandage your wounds, but then you will come with me into the palace."

Pain sent Kagome back down to the grass, the world spinning in a completely unacceptable fashion. "You better hurry with that healer if you want me to be conscious."

A barked order sent servants scrambling to find the healer. Fortunately he was near by and came across the gardens at a run. Seeing the expression in the lord's eye he kept his mouth shut and bandaged up the miko. She was weak from blood loss. He made her drink a nasty brew that would keep her up and going long enough to deal with the repercussions of the night.

Merkamou found Kagome's abandoned kimonos and brought them back to her. They were relatively unharmed and would hide the slashes and bandages. The miko wanted nothing to do with them, but she was convinced to put them on. Her hair was a complete loss, with all of her combs destroyed. She struggled with it, trying to make it lay back nicely. There was blood in her hair, and on her hands, making the whole thing feel pointless. "Lets get this over with, Sesshomaru."

The medicine did its job and Kagome was able to walk next to Sesshomaru with no help. It seemed as though every person in the palace was in the courtyard and gardens, trying to figure out what exactly had happened, and who was going to die. Kagome kept her head up, noticing that the looks were not ones of disgust anymore, but ones of fear. Word had already reached the palace that Sesshomaru's mate had been attacked, and that none of the attackers had lived. The devastation in the gardens spoke volumes, making an impression that changed their view of the ningen. There was no question of Sesshomaru's bond, either. The miko wore his mark, and he had flown to her defense before any other even knew there was a battle.

Seeing the look in the lord's eye the servants scattered, finding important things to do elsewhere. The guests, advisors, and nobles cowered slightly as Sesshomaru and Merkamou glared at them. Sesshomaru knew that some of the attackers had been from his lands, and some from Merkamou's. He had recognized some of them, and knew whom they counted as allies. Three of the nobles in the hall were among those allies. They stood in a small huddle, close to one of the exits.

"Where do your loyalties lie?" Sesshomaru's voice came from right next to the guilty nobles, making them stumble back. They had not even seen him move. A clawed hand snatched the first noble off the ground, holding him by the throat. "Were you involved?"

"No, no my lord!" The noble struggled, trying to break free. Deceit hung around him like a cloud, his treachery a stench that burned Sesshomaru's nostrils. The claws tightened and crushed the traitor's neck, squeezing the life out of him.

The two remaining nobles made a break for freedom. Guards blocked their way, forcing them to turn back and face their deaths. Sesshomaru slashed both across the chest, sending poison into their bodies. He left them writhing on the floor, their insides burning away. He returned to Kagome, watching over her as Merkamou cut a larger swath through his own retinue. He would be returning home with only one quarter of the original group. Many had died out in the gardens, and their allies were now cut down in the hall. The Lord of the Southern Lands was disgusted with his vassals, vowing to himself to do some housekeeping when he returned to his lands.

Nausea was threatening to overwhelm Kagome as she saw the bodies littering the floor. The two poisoned nobles were still screaming, although it was quieter now. She tried to breathe deeply, tried to remain steady so that the impression tonight was of a strong female. The two tai-youkai dismissed the survivors, leaving the mess for the servants to clean up. Merkamou returned to his own quarters, nursing a deep gash across one arm from the battle. Sesshomaru lifted Kagome up into his arms and carried her to her own rooms. Kumo flew in after them, her face white. "My lady, are you well?"

"I've had better days, Kumo." Kagome swayed a little as Sesshomaru started to pull kimonos off of her. Kumo darted about, finding a robe for her to change into and finding her bath supplies.

"Kagome-sama, may I suggest that we go to the baths?"

A low growl rumbled through Sesshomaru. He did not want Kagome out of his sight. His growl earned him an annoyed expression from his mate. "What? Do you want me to sleep covered in blood, sweat, and dirt? You should bathe, too. Slaughtering the masses is dirty work."

"Come, Kagome-sama, we will have you cleaned up and in bed before your strength gives out." Kumo used her position as a favored servant to hustle Kagome out before Sesshomaru could protest any more.

"Kumo, I need to see Rin."

"She is sleeping, Kagome-sama. I put her to bed, and the Captain is watching over her. Please don't wake her."

Relief made Kagome's knees go weak. "Poor Jo-chan. She should have never been through that." She made it to the baths with some support from Kumo, leaning on the servant's arm when her reserves started to run out.

It was a nasty task to clean the lady up. She had managed to get blood everywhere, some from herself and some from her enemies. While scrubbing her hair for the second time, Kumo finally summoned the courage to ask about the battle. "My lady, what happened? Rin-sama was sobbing when she came up, so I simply put her to bed without questions. I know that you were attacked by traitors, but what happened?"

"I was in the gardens with Rin; we had my guards with us, I thought it was safe. They just attacked us, killed all of my guards before I could do anything to save them. I got a barrier up, so Rin and I were safe. There was another barrier to keep Sesshomaru from finding us, but I blew up a tree outside the barriers and he found us. There were so many youkai attacking us, Kumo, over twenty of them. Sesshomaru, Merkamou and the Captain took care of most of it, but Rin ended up killing two of them herself. Poor Jo-chan."

"She killed two of them?" Kumo rinsed out her lady's hair, relieved that the water was finally running clear. "That would explain how upset she was. I don't believe she has ever been in a fight before."

"She has not."

Kumo squeaked and dropped her bucket, spinning to see her lord. She dropped into a bow, staring at the floor. Kagome had known he was coming, but had not thought to warn the servant. 'Sorry, Kumo.'

"I will attend to my lady. You may return to your other duties."

Bowing again, Kumo backed out of the room. Sesshomaru gazed at his mate, sitting on a bench with her wet hair hanging loose. The mark he had given her glimmered from her chest, softening his eyes. The bandages were starting to show red from the cuts on her side and she sagged against the wall, exhaustion taking over.

The inu-youkai moved quickly to wash the blood and gore from his body. There was no time for soaking, he needed to move his mate to bed before she collapsed on the floor. Once he was clean and back in a robe he dressed Kagome in one as well. He lifted her to his chest, carrying her through the palace and back to his own room.

Kagome woke up a little when she was settled into bed, familiar warmth pressed against her back. She took a deep breath, smelling his scent and the sweet herbs used on her hair. The night's events felt unreal, like a nightmare. A strong arm was wrapped around her chest, holding her against his strong body as though he was afraid she would disappear. Kagome turned her head to touch her cheek to his, her body relaxing.

"Thank you for saving me, Sesshomaru."

"I will always save you, koishii."

Exhaustion was dragging Kagome down, forcing her into sleep as her brain tried to wrap around this new puzzle.

'Koishii? Did he just call me…?'


	24. Friends With Benefits

A/N: Sorry about the koishii thing, it's explained in this one. All right, ladies and germs, there are three chapters, including this one, left in this story. There is a sequel, and I have just completed chapter ten of it. I believe that I will continue to post on the end of this one, since the continuation makes no sense without reading this one. There will be an epilogue, then the new story will start. Just warning you guys so you don't panic, since I am planning on taking a week off between the two stories. School and all that nonsense. As usual, I still own nothing.

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'Something must be wrong with Rin. The sun is up, and yet we are still in bed.' Sesshomaru looked over at his mate, still sound asleep. He brushed a kiss on her cheek before slipping out of bed and pulling a robe on over his hakama. He stretched slowly, loosening tight muscles from the previous night's fiasco. 'It is tempting to bring them back with the Tensaiga so that I might kill them again, one death was not good enough for them. The bodies have been destroyed already, I am certain, but it is still an appealing thought.'

Rin's room was dark and silent. Sesshomaru found the little girl still asleep, the blankets pulled up to her nose as though she were hiding from something. Her breathing was normal, so he let her rest with nothing more than a brush of his fingers against her cheek. The Captain was gone, probably overseeing the clean up in the gardens.

'The koi pond is probably a complete loss, along with the path cut by Merkamou's attacks. Effective, certainly, but not appropriate for the gardens.' The youkai lord managed to slide back into bed with Kagome without waking her, pulling her back against his chest. 'I should be questioning the remaining nobles, looking over the list of the dead and deciding who to torture, anything other then lying in bed like this.'

Kagome sighed in her sleep and pulled his arms tighter around herself.

'The lists can wait. It is still early, I will deal with the survivors at a more reasonable hour.' Sesshomaru's eyes drifted closed, listening to the steady heart beat next to him. 'I will only be a few moments.'

----

"Kagome-chan?"

The soft, hesitant voice still managed to wake Kagome, mostly from habit. "Jo-chan? Is it time to get up?"

"Rin did not wake up when she was supposed to. Everyone has slept too long." A small sniffle came from the girl who looked positively distraught. "Rin is sorry, Kagome-chan."

"Come here, Jo-chan. We all needed to sleep, especially you. It's not your job to wake up the whole palace." Kagome pulled the little girl up next to her, giving her a big hug and hiding the grimace of pain that flashed across her face. "Since we are all still in bed, breakfast will just have to wait. I'm sure Merkamou-sama won't mind. He likes to sleep in."

Comforted, Rin snuggled under the blankets with Kagome. Sesshomaru had woken up when Rin came in, and now gave Kagome a weird look. 'What's his problem? He saved Rin in the woods, he let her follow him around everywhere, and now he doesn't want her in his room? At least he got to choose her, he's stuck with me. If he didn't need me for pups I'd probably never be allowed in here either.'

"What?" Kagome mouthed at him, turning her head to look back over her shoulder. "She's upset. She's had a hard night. Leave her alone."

The gold eyes narrowed for a second, then relaxed. It was not worth fighting over. Rin had slept in his room on several other occasions after she had woken up screaming from a nightmare. She always curled up at the foot of his bed, trying not to wake him, and slipping out before the sun came up. Sesshomaru knew she was there, but had not stopped her. It was pleasant to have her sleeping quietly in his room, her soft heartbeat lulling his mind into sleep. She had never mentioned it, and neither had he.

The smell of blood was drifting from Kagome. Lifting Rin had opened her cuts which were now soaking through her bandages again. Sesshomaru felt his jaw clench, concern for his mate destroying any chance of a peaceful morning with this little family. He climbed back out of the bed, pulling his robe back on. Kagome glanced up at him.

"You need the healer." Sesshomaru was already out the door.

'Whoa, I really ticked him off. What would be so bad about having Rin in here?' The little girl in question was too busy playing with Kagome's hair to worry about the adults. Sesshomaru-sama would come back when he was done working. He always did.

"Come on, Jo-chan. It's time to get dressed and find some food. I'm starving." Kagome opened her arms and let the little girl climb out of bed. Rin did not have her usual boundless energy, but the twinkle was coming back to her eyes.

"Hai, Kagome-chan. Rin will find Kumo. She will be worried since it is so late!" Rin trotted out into the hall, looking for Kumo.

'At least I got to sleep in .' Sitting up was quite painful, taking Kagome's breath away. 'Huh, I think I'm hurt. Could be the big gashes in my side from that damn youkai. Go figure.'

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed made Kagome's head spin. Not a good omen for the rest of the morning. Determination and pure, brute stubbornness made Kagome carefully stand, her hand clamped to her side. A gray haze moved across her vision and her thoughts became rather vague.

'Oh, good thing that I didn't go far, this way I landed on something soft. And Sesshomaru's already gone for the healer. All very convenient.'

"Kagome-chan, Rin found Kumo, she's waiting for you in . . . Kagome-chan!"

Tiny hands were on her arm, shaking her. "Kagome-chan, what's wrong? Why are you half off the bed?"

"I'm going to wait for the healer, Jo-chan. I don't think I'm supposed to be up just yet."

Rin's sharp eyes saw the blood starting to seep through Kagome's clothes. "Kagome-chan, even Rin can tell you are not supposed to be up."

Kagome gave her a one-eyebrow look that she had learned from Sesshomaru. "Really. You think so?"

"No more moving until Sesshomaru-sama comes back or he'll be mad." Rin pulled the pillows over to Kagome, propping her head back up. "Rin is sorry that Kagome-chan got hurt. Rin was not fast enough."

"Nani? Rin, Jo-chan, no! You were amazing! You saved my life! I was trying to save you, I didn't want you to have to fight anything. You're still so little."

"Rin is not little! Rin is getting very tall, Kagome-chan said so!"

Chuckling, Kagome ruffled Rin's hair. "Hai, Jo-chan, you are getting very tall. Still, don't feel like you weren't good enough. You took on two grown youkai last night in your very first fight. You kept me safe. I am very proud of you, and I'm sure Sesshomaru-sama is, too."

"Really?"

"Really, Jo-chan."

"You tried to get up." Sesshomaru was glaring from the doorway as the healer hurried in. 'She is going to get herself killed yet. I will keep her in bed until she heals even if I have to watch over her at all times myself.'

"Are you surprised?" The healer was propping Kagome up as she glared at her mate, moving her hands out of the way so the healer could check her bandages. "I need to eat at some point."

"You will eat here."

Kagome was in no mood to deal with this routine. "Hai, my lord." She gave him an icy glare before looking away and biting her lip. 'Damn, that stings!'

"We are going to need to stitch some of this." The healer was shaking his head. "It's just going to break back open if we don't, and you can't afford to lose much more blood. We should have done this last night, but there was no time."

"Stitch? Stitch? Oh, no. I know you can't numb that out. You've never even heard of morphine, have you?" Kagome was trying to slide across the blankets to get away from the healer, but he wasn't letting her get away.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, my lady, but I do know that these could become life threatening if you do not let me stitch the worst of it up."

Desperate eyes went to Sesshomaru. "I don't like needles." Kagome had turned a rather nasty shade of green.

"You do not like the idea of dying either."

"Do you have to be such a jerk?" Kagome glared at him before turning the glare at the healer. "You better have something in mind to knock me out."

"I can make a tea for you that will calm you. I will get my supplies and bring the tea back with me." The healer hurried out of the room.

"Kagome-chan?"

"Don't worry, Rin. I'll be fine. I'm going to send you down to breakfast, though. I'm sure Merkamou is starting to wonder where everyone is. I'm going to end up eating in here, so can you do me this one big favor?" Kagome gave Rin big puppy eyes. 'She does not want to be here for this, I'll end up teaching her some new phrases.'

"Hai, Kagome-chan." Rin trotted off, happy to have a new mission. Talking to Merkamou-sama would be fun, and then she could check on her friend.

"You are sending her off to eat with Merkamou alone?"

Alone with her mate, Kagome gave him a glare. "She had a bad night last night, and she does not need to be here while I'm being tortured. Merkamou will keep an eye on her and keep her company. He knows what she had to do last night, and he'll be careful with her."

"She is not injured."

"Are you trying to be annoying this morning?"

"Not that I am aware of. Rin is not what I am concerned about at this time." Sesshomaru settled next to Kagome, brushing her hair back behind her shoulder. "You need to care for those wounds."

"And you should not be giving me orders or giving me the silent treatment because Rin was in the bed!"

A genuine blank stare replaced the mask. "Miko, what are you talking about?"

"You just left after Rin came in, and you have been ordering me around since I woke up!"

"You needed a healer." Sesshomaru studied her. 'She is very upset, but why? She smells as though she is not in heat, it is not time for the irrational mood swings. Is it the exhaustion?' "Are you still tired?"

'Huh? What the heck is he thinking?' Kagome took a deep breath, trying to figure out what he was feeling. Mostly concern, but with a lot of confusion mixed in. 'Oh. Seems I should have done that earlier. I was expecting annoyance, maybe some disgust with the weak female ningen. I must be tired still.'

The miko sighed and slumped against him. "Sorry, Sesshomaru. I think I'm just tired still. I'm not fond of having a group of youkai nearly kill me. I'm exhausted, I'm hurt, and I am more than a little worried about the healer that is about to come in here and sew me up with a needle. I think I've earned some comforting."

Strong arms moved around her. "I am not fond of a group of youkai trying to kill you, either. The worst is over now. After today there should not be any fools left that would dare to touch you. Most of the fools are already dead and are being disposed of as we speak."

"And you'll keep me safe from any surviving fools, right?"

"Of course. It is my duty to keep you safe."

Kagome dropped her head on his shoulder. 'Damn. He was doing great until he got to that last bit. _Duty_. Just for a little bit, I forgot that he didn't have a choice in this. I thought he loved me, maybe just a little bit. He did call me koishii, after all. Calling me 'beloved' should mean he loves me. But now I'm awake and Prince Charming has disappeared and been replaced by this gorgeous guy who will protect me, desire me, and will be with me the rest of my life. Sounds great, doesn't it? But love? Not so much. Is my temper short because I'm tired, or because I'm going through all of this and now the prize just seems so . . . empty?'

'Or is it because you are falling in love with him and you want to know if he feels the same way?'

'Oh, I really cannot deal with you right now. Take a hike!'

"Here is your tea, Kagome-sama. Just drink it straight down, it is not a pleasant taste but it will help you to relax." The healer handed Kagome a cup of hot tea, watching as she held her nose and gulped it down.

"Blah! That's almost as nasty as the stuff you gave me last night."

"You will feel better in a short while." Humming to himself, the healer started to pull out his supplies and fresh bandages. Kagome looked away, refusing to see the implements he was going to be using on her in the near future. She turned her face so that it was buried in Sesshomaru's chest, waiting for the tea to do something useful.

'Anything that tastes that nasty has to work.'

----

"Good morning, Merkamou-sama."

"I was beginning to think that Sesshomaru-sama's wing of the palace was under a spell! No signs of life, and my meal was becoming so very lonely."

Merkamou was eating alone in the dining hall, the surviving retainers hiding in their rooms. He was tired from the previous night's battle, but otherwise none the worse for wear. The sight of the brave little girl cheered him greatly, adding a smile to his morning.

"The healer is taking care of Kagome-chan, so she is going to eat in her room. Rin is supposed to keep you company and have breakfast with you." Rin settled into her usual spot down the table from Merkamou.

"And I can think of no creature that I would rather share a meal with. Come, there is just two of us, you should sit across from me so that we can talk with ease."

"Merkamou-sama is silly. Rin will come and sit near him, though, so that Merkamou-sama can tell her stories."

"And what stories would you like to her, little one?"

"Happy ones, Merkamou-sama."

Merkamou's face sobered as he looked at the little girl. 'No tales of battle today. Poor little merlin, she is still in shock. Her first battle, and she has barely fledged. Her innocence is gone. She knows how it feels to slam a sword through flesh and bone, and she knows how an enemy looks when the life drains away. I would give anything to give her innocence back to her.'

"Very well, little merlin, I have stories of your lord as a pup that I think you would find most entertaining."

"Merlin? Rin thought Rin was a fledgling?" Rin tipped her head over, staring at the gold eyes. Similar to Sesshomaru-sama's in color, but the resemblance ended there. His eyes were the far seeing gaze of an hawk, and the fire that her lord kept locked away burned brightly for any to see. Volatile and unpredictable, Merkamou's personality resembled the streak of red flame that ran down his cheek.

Merkamou's smile returned at Rin's blunt question. 'I should follow Sesshomaru's example and find a mate of my own. I have enjoyed my time with this little one, and I will be reluctant to leave her. It is definitely time to start looking for a mate so that I can have some chicks of my own. But I will need to find a mate as entertaining as these two, and that will take some time.'

"The fledgling has grown into a brave merlin. Brave enough to attack any that come near her nest, even if they are much larger than she is (1). Now, little merlin, you must not tell Sesshomaru-sama where you heard this from, or I will be in a great deal of trouble."

"Rin promises, Merkamou-sama."

"When Sesshomaru-sama was just a pup, not much bigger than you, he managed to fall into the koi pond. While this is entertaining enough, the story of how he fell in is much more interesting. This is the story of how your lord became a very wet and angry pup. And no matter what he may say, I did not push him in. Not on this occasion, anyways."

Rin was entertained for hours by Merkamou's stories. He skirted around anything that might upset her. The little girl had been through enough.

"Merkamou-sama?"

"Hai, little merlin?"

"What was your first battle like?"

Silence. Merkamou warred with himself on how he should respond. "It was very frightening, my little merlin."

"You were scared?"

"I believe that everyone is scared when they first go into battle. It was very loud, and there were youkai all around. I was with my father and my older brother. A force was attacking from the east, trying to take part of my father's lands. I was very proud that my father would let me fight, but I had not expected this. I stayed near my brother, just as father said I should. I brought down several enemies that day, and even saved my brother when he was attacked by several enemies at once. And when it was all over, I went into the woods and threw up."

"So did I!"

'Not Rin, little merlin?' Merkamou nodded to her. "I have known some great warriors that never eat before a battle because they become sick afterwards."

"I am not a great warrior." Rin looked down at her hands. "Kagome-chan still got hurt."

A taloned finger lifted Rin's chin. "You were very brave, little merlin. It was a good battle. The next time I visit I fully expect you to have some stories for me of your glorious victories in battle."

Rin gave him a brilliant smile. "Hai, Merkamou-sama."

----

"Whoa, this is weirder than the sake."

"Kagome, you are supposed to be holding still." Sesshomaru tightened his grip as the healer grumbled under his breath about stubborn mikos.

"I'm trying, but there is a youkai sticking me with a needle, and it's distracting. Ouch! What's the big idea!" Kagome wanted to take a swing at the healer, but her arms were being held by that damn arrogant bastard. The really cute one with the pretty hair. She liked his hair. There was a lot about him she liked. Sure, he was a damn arrogant bastard, but it kind of grew on you. Like mold.

'Besides, you can't hold the whole trying to kill me thing against him for too long. Inuyasha tried to kill me, Kouga tried to kill me, Merkamou tried to kill me, Mirouku tried to kidnap me, and Shippo tried to steal my shards. First impressions don't seem to be very accurate in the Feudal Era.' A sharp poke with the needle made Kagome dig her fingers into Sesshomaru's arm and bite her lip. 'I've done weirder stuff. I mean, come on! He's hot! Those models in those posters have nothing on him. And I've seen him naked!'

Giggles were escaping the drugged miko. Sesshomaru could not even begin to guess why she was giggling, considering she was having stitches put in and her fingers were digging into his arm with each stick. Still the giggles were better than her trying to attack the healer.

'So, hot guy, hot sex, commitment, all good. Love? Not so good. But, maybe friends with benefits? Ah, now that fits. I could see friends here. That's progress, isn't it? Okay, friends with benefits. We do act like friends most of the time, even if we do piss each other off. And benefits. Lots of benefits. Good benefits.'

"Kagome, you need to stop giggling, it is making your body shake. What is so very amusing?"

"Sorry, Jo-chan." Kagome held her breath, trying to stop the giggles, but they were escaping anyways. "Just thinking about benefits."

A sharp glare from Sesshomaru made the healer pretend he had not heard the Great Lord of the Western Lands being called Jo-chan. The last of the stitches was tied off and the bandages were wrapped back into place. "We are done, Kagome-sama."

The healer rushed out of the room as soon as his supplies had been gathered, not wanting to be anywhere near the lord and his rather drugged mate. He did not want to witness any other pet names or other behaviors that might be embarrassing to the tai-youkai. Eliminating the healer would be an effective way of stopping any rumors before they started.

A sigh of relief escaped Sesshomaru as he set his giggling mate back into the bed. "What is so entertaining now?"

"Benefits. We're friends with lots of benefits."

'I should know better than to follow up on that since she is making no sense, but I cannot help myself.' "Friends with benefits?"

"Yeah. Don't you think? I think we've become good friends. You're definitely one of my best friends, right up there with Sango."

'Friends? I have never thought of that relationship with her.' Sesshomaru tipped his head to the side ever so slightly. "We are mates, Kagome. However, I suppose that we would also qualify as friends. I do not have much for comparison. And the benefits?"

"Ah, the benefits are the part that makes us mates. Most friends don't do that kind of stuff, so we're friends with benefits. Lots of benefits. It's progress!"

'I suppose that could describe this. I feel as though we are something more, but if that is what she is feeling I should be thankful that she sees me as a friend. That would imply that she trusts me. I should be thankful that she is here at all, after my behavior towards her and the danger she is in.'

Kagome interrupted his thoughts with some of her own. "Merkamou would probably qualify as a friend these days."

"Keh. Loud, volatile, impulsive . . ."

". . .friend that ran into battle with you to save your mate. Who risked his life to make sure that your mate was acceptable and to protect his lands. You may not like spending a lot of time with him, but I think we can upgrade him to friend after last night."

A low growl escaped Sesshomaru. "I still wish to kill him on a rather frequent basis."

"So? You don't actually do it, and from you I would consider that a definite sign of friendship."

At the confused expression on her mate's face Kagome dissolved into giggles again. "Ah, Jo-chan has friends."

"Why do you insist on calling me that?"

"I could call you Fluffy."

"Miko, you are lucky that you are injured. Otherwise I would make you pay for your behavior."

"Yeah, yeah, you'll make me suffer later I'm sure. Isn't that what friends are for?" Kagome wiped tears away from her face as she fought to stop giggling. Her side was aching and the laughter was not helping.

"You should rest. I do not believe you will stop that giggling until I have left the room, so I will send Kumo to watch over you. Sleep, Kagome."

"Yes, sir!" Kagome gave him the same salute she had seen her guards use, then dissolved once more into giggles.

Sesshomaru escaped into the hallway. In Kagome's room he found Kumo repairing a kimono, trying not to listen to the giggling in the next room.

"Watch over my lady." The lord was gone before Kumo could even get to her feet. Kumo moved to the next room and found a half-asleep miko, still giggling very softly. The servant pulled a blanket over her, blew out the lamp, and covered the window. By the time Kumo had settled against the wall Kagome was asleep.

The lord caught up with the healer in the hallway. "What, exactly, did that tea do to her?"

"I am not sure, my lord. I have never seen a reaction like that before."

"Have you used this tea on a ningen before?"

"Ah, well, not as such, my lord. . ." The healer found himself pinned against the wall by his throat, gasping for air.

"You do not endanger this Sesshomaru's mate. Do not make the mistake again."

"Hai, my lord," the healer wheezed. He was dropped to the ground in an ungainly heap. Bowing, he scrambled down the hall to put distance between himself and the annoyed inu-youkai.

'The miko is cursed. Everywhere she goes her life is in danger. What was she thinking, staying to be the mate of an inu-youkai? She is much too fragile for this life. But it is too late now, and I would not let her go even if I could. I need her, more than just the mate. I need Kagome. I will do what I can to keep her safe. Hopefully she will not regret her decision.'

A/N:

(1) Merlin: A tiny falcon that lives in Japan (amongst other places). 30cm, sometimes less in length. Well known for their habit of attacking larger birds, including eagles. They live off of large insects and some small birds. Courtesy of Wikipedia


	25. No Regrets

A/N: 20000 hits! Yea! Moderate fluff warning (should not be gag worthy, blackXheart). Come on, you knew I had to get just a bit more fluff in there. Someone asked where Shippo was, in Ch 1 he is whisked away by relatives and Kagome has no idea where he is. Yes, the next one is still a SessXKag, but with plenty of other critters running around. And just for the record, I have made **no** guarantees that Kagome will live as long as Sesshy. -ducks heavy objects- Come on, I can't make it too easy for them. -dodges rotten fruit- Enjoy!

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Kagome's hair trailed down the wall, freed from Kumo's attempts at control. Lying on her back, the young miko watched the clouds float by, mind trailing back over her day. The guards had gotten used to her new perch over the last couple of weeks and only made a token protest when she scaled up the wall that surrounded the palace. From this spot she could look out over the Western Lands, wild and free with the leaves just starting to change colors.

'Sango, I should have listened to you. I should have run while I had the chance.'

Her morning replayed in her head, despite her best attempts to ignore her memories.

_The guards had been getting on her nerves, again. Sure, there were only two of them, but there had not been any kind of a threat in over a month! Most of the traitors had died on that night two months ago, leaving only a scattered group with no leader. The threat was gone, since it was much too late to find Sesshomaru a new mate. _

_Rebellion had sparked a plan to give the guards the slip. While the duo watched the door to her room, Kagome climbed out the window and skipped to her study. It was similar to Sesshomaru's, but not as neat. It had come as a bit of a shock to Kagome to realize that her job did not begin and end at being pretty and having pups._

_It seemed that the youkai Ladies are just as busy as their mates. Behind the Lords' obvious control was a second court, one controlled by the Ladies. Kagome was in constant correspondence with the other courts, working on her own agendas and alliances. Slowly but surely, a second court was forming in the Western Lands, centered on the Lady. Just today the message had finally arrived from the Lord of the East, congratulating Sesshomaru on his new mate. With the acceptance of the final Lord Kagome's position was finalized. She was the Lady of the Western Lands, and she had the Lady of the East to thank for her mate's sensible behavior._ _Sure, this meant that she owed Lady Akira a favor now, but it had been necessary._

_While writing a letter to thank Lady Akira she had felt her mate's temper flare, and he was coming her way. '1,000 yen says he just figured out where my guards were and that I was not there.' Kagome set her quill down and signaled to Kumo. The servant recognized her lady's signal for Sesshomaru and bolted from the room. That signal meant that the youkai lord was coming, and that he was upset about something. Kumo was grateful when she made it out of the room before the lord could come in and start a fight with his mate._

"_Why are you here."_

_Kagome matched his icy glare with one of her own. "I'm working. Why are you here?"_

"_Your guards have been waiting for you outside of your room."_

"_And? I am not in danger anymore, I've been accepted by all of the lords and no one has even attempted to harm me in a month. I think that its time to let my guards do something more useful."_

"_You will allow the guards to follow you. If you do this again they will not leave your side no matter where you go."_

"_I most definitely will not have them following me everywhere! I can take care of myself."_

_A low growl was rumbling through the inu-youkai's chest. "You think so, miko?"_

'_That's not a good sign.' Kagome stood from behind her desk. "I do. I'm done having people follow me around all of the time. If your guards try to follow me again I'll put up a barrier and keep them wherever I choose."_

_Quicker than thought Sesshomaru snatched Kagome up by her haori, glaring at her. "You cannot protect yourself."_

"_Baka." Kagome grabbed his wrists and blasted him. Sesshomaru was thrown back several feet, dropping the miko in the process. Kagome climbed back to her feet and bolted for the door. A barrier across the door kept Sesshomaru from following, turning his frustration to anger._

"_Miko!"_

'And now I'm here, enjoying a few minutes of peace before he escapes.' Kagome's body shook. 'That would be him attacking the barrier again. I'm relieved he didn't have Tokijin with him, he would be out already.'

Ever since that night in the gardens things had been tense between the two. The possibility of Kagome being killed had an effect on the inu-youkai. While they still had times when they were close, he was very cold outside of their room. His desperate need to protect her had lead to orders that drove Kagome to the edge of her sanity, and had led to some terrible fights.

The miko watched the wind blow through the trees, wishing that she could just drop down on the other side of the wall and run off into the horizon. She knew that leaving was impossible. Sesshomaru had left one time without her, and it had driven them both to the edge of insanity. The longing had turned to pain, the kind of pain that drives out reasonable thought. When he had returned the relief had sent both of them to their knees, holding each other. For two days they had not emerged from his room, staying as close to each other as possible.

Those two days had been some of the best of her life. For two days they had done nothing but stay together. They had talked well into the night, mumbling to each other in the dark while the palace slept. She had truly thought that he loved her. But he had returned to his old self as soon as they had left the room. The change had hurt like a dagger through her heart, and she could not get away. She would see flashes, moments that brought her hope that there was more to this than an arranged partnership.

She sighed. It always ended up like this, though. One of them would set the other off, and it would spiral out of control. She was frustrated and angry with him most of the time, wanting his love in return for her own. 'I should have never made this deal. Now I'm stuck here, in another impossible position like I was with Inuyasha. What, exactly, did I do to piss the fates off this much?'

Another pang ran through her body. She looked about for the palace guards. "You may want to clear the area."

"My lady?" Two of the guards looked up at her, confusion plain on their faces.

"My mate is coming, and he is not happy."

The first guard turned to the second. "Clear the area immediately."

Kagome fought down a giggle. 'I better drop that barrier if I want to have any energy to deal with him when he gets here. I wonder how long it will take for him to find me?' She dropped the barrier in the palace. 'One chimpanzee, two chimpanzee . . .'

The miko had nine fingers up when Sesshomaru appeared at the wall, glaring up at her. 'Nine seconds. He's really pissed this time.'

"Miko." Frustration and anger were spinning his thoughts out of control. 'She has no sense. Lying on the palace walls? No guards? I cannot lose her; I will protect her whether she wants it or not!'

Cold blue eyes glared down at him. Kagome sat up and turned so that she was facing him, her legs hanging over the side of the wall. "Youkai."

'Why the hell do I love him? Why? He's arrogant, dominating, vicious . . .'

'He cares about you, and you know it. Quit asking why and just accept it, girl!'

'But it doesn't make sense! Every time I look in those eyes I'm lost. I keep thinking that he feels something for me, too, but here he is, ready to kill me for such a little thing. Sure, he takes care of me, protects me. He has even called himself my friend, but that's not fair! I love him, and he doesn't feel the same thing. Why should I have to feel like this, while he is free to hurt me whenever he pleases? Focus on the vicious demon, Kagome!'

"You will allow the guards." Sesshomaru was cracking his claws, eyes tinged with red.

"Are you looking for a fight, mate?" Sickeningly sweet, Kagome's voice held as much threat as his cold one.

"Are you threatening me, mate?"

Kagome climbed back down from the top of the wall. "If you are going to try to force me, yes."

"You will reconsider." Sesshomaru lunged forward. Kagome barely got a barrier up in time, blocking him from attacking.

The inu-youkai attacked her barrier, knowing that she would weaken. A pulse of energy burned his hands when he hit the barrier, but not enough to deter him. Kagome was backing away, her mind whirling.

'Okay, he's really after me this time. I'm so screwed. Think! Of course I took my hair down, no combs this time, and no dagger either. I am really stuck this time. I'm going to have to do this the hard way.'

The miko waited until he was taking another swing at her barrier, then dropped it. Sesshomaru's arm passed through the empty air, throwing him off balance. Kagome leapt forward, both hands connecting with his arm and knocking him back a good ten feet. He landed on his side, but was up before she could get anywhere near him.

"If you have any sense, you will yield now."

"You first, bastard." Kagome circled her opponent, looking for an opening. She needed to get him down, and she wasn't sure how long she was going to last. Her endurance was getting better, but she would tire quickly with an opponent like him.

The lord launched himself at her again, claws reaching out for her. They both landed glancing blows, sending both to their knees. Kagome's arm was open and bleeding, while Sesshomaru was tossed into the wall. The miko moved first, picking up a stone and charging it. When the youkai lunged at her she threw it, blasting him into the wall again. A second stone in the yokai's chest sent the lord through the wall, landing on the other side.

Kagome followed him through the wall, growling at him. 'He hurt me! He actually hurt me! How could he? I should purify his ass right now!'

A barrier kept the youkai on the ground, growling at his prison.

"You know I could kill you, right? You can't get away, and I could turn you into a pile of ash."

'Does she hate me that much?' Angry red eyes flashed at her. "Then why do you hesitate? Kill me, or risk your own death when your strength fails and I am free."

Fists clenched, Kagome glared back at him. 'I should. Then I could be free. I would not have to be stuck here with someone who will never love me.' Pain stabbed through her heart at the thought of leaving, or that he could kill her in cold blood.

"You could kill me, Sesshomaru? You could look at my face and strike me down?"

The eyes began to clear. "Do you believe I could?"

Tears were filling Kagome's eyes. 'I can't kill him. Damn it all, I can't do it. I still love the damn arrogant bastard.'

The inu-youkai stared into her eyes. "Kill me, then. If that is what you want then do it."

"I can't do it!"

"Why? Are you too weak to defeat this Sesshomaru?"

"No, because I love you, you ass!"

'Oh, damn. That was not what I had planned on saying.'

Kagome's face went white as she backed away. "I . . . I . . ." She turned and ran, not even sure of where she was going but desperate to get away. She could not face this rejection, not now! Her stomach flipped over as her captive attacked the barrier, draining her strength away. 'I won't be able to hold the barrier much longer. Oh, Kami, he's going to kill me, isn't he? The man I love is going to kill me! I have to hide!'

The youkai watched as Kagome raced away from him. 'Nani? Did she just say that she loves me?'

Darting through the trees Kagome tried to find somewhere to hide. The world started to spin, then her stomach lurched. She fell to the ground, clinging to a tree trunk with her eyes shut and her body shaking. The barrier had just collapsed and he was on his way. 'One chimpanzee, two chimpanzee . . .'

Sesshomaru looked at the miko, clinging to the tree and mumbling to herself. 'She looks terrified. She truly expects me to kill her. What have I done that would make her think that I care so little for her, that I could just destroy her without a thought'

When she felt Sesshomaru stop next to her Kagome stopped counting. 'Twenty seconds? That took forever! What was he doing?' She snuck a peek at him. 'He's not moving. Is he trying to figure out how he wants to kill me? I can't do anything to stop him; I have no strength left at all. I can't even run anymore!'

A touch on her cheek almost made Kagome jump out of her skin. "Eep!" 'This is it! I'm dead!'

"Kagome."

Strong arms carefully pried her arms away from the tree, pulling her into an embrace. "Kagome, what are you doing?"

"I'm running from you, baka! I don't want to be killed!"

"You truly believe that I am here to kill you?"

"Do you see my arm! That's your handiwork. What is going to keep you from finishing me off?"

Sesshomaru carefully pushed Kagome's sleeve up, staring at the slashes he had given her. He could barely remember his attack. The youkai had tried to take control and force his mate to submit, and this had been the result. He ran a gentle finger down her arm, guilt gnawing at his heart. "I apologize. Why did you not finish it?"

The miko bit her lip, looking away. Sesshomaru put a finger under her chin, bringing her eyes back to his. "Why?"

A quiet growl escaped Kagome. "Because I love you, you bastard."

The arm around Kagome tightened slightly. "You do not know what it means to hear you say that."

Kagome looked up into those gold eyes, confusion and tears on her face. "Why? You were forced into this, what do you care? You could never love a human like me."

"Perhaps you can help me with this. Youkai do not think of this, and I still am not sure if I understand the concept."

"What do you think love is?"

"Would that be when one is at peace when you are with a person? When they are away, do they long to hear that voice, see that face, and smell that scent? I would imagine that a person in love would not be able to imagine any other at their side, and would not consider the possibility. The idea of being separated would distress them. Perhaps they would wish to be with this person each day."

Mouth open in shock, Kagome could only nod.

"Then it would seem that I love you."

"Nani? You love me?" Her mind was spinning so rapidly she was afraid it would just fly out of her ear and leave this insane conversation behind. He still sounded so calm, as though he was picking out a new piece of armor. "How could that be? We are always fighting, violently at that. You just finished attacking me! You looked like you were going to kill me!"

Sesshomaru sighed. "And now it is your turn to be confused. I do not want anything to happen to you. You seem to attract danger, miko, and even with guards and my protection you have many scars to show for your decision to stay. I do not want to lose you for want of protection. You were being exceedingly stubborn, and it was . . . annoying. Your injury was not intentional. You can only push a male inu-youkai so far. You were told that battles for dominance would be a part of the relationship."

"And I told you that I would not go easy on you."

"Hai. You should defend yourself. But you should also be reasonable when it comes to guarding yourself from danger."

"I can deal with it myself, Sesshomaru. You said that I had these scars even with the guards, maybe we can save a few guards by letting me take care of myself. Good guards are hard to find, you know."

'She is teasing me.' The youkai raised one eyebrow at her. "You still need protection."

A low growl rumbled out of Kagome.

"Peace. We will arrange a compromise that will offer suitable protection without causing you to purify me."

The miko giggled, leaning into Sesshomaru's chest. "I think I have been around you too long. Growling is becoming second nature."

"Growling is what got us into this situation to begin with."

"Then I see no reason to stop now." Kagome looked up into that perfect face, one finger tracing his lips. "Perhaps we should return to the palace, the guards will be wondering if they still have a Lord and Lady."

"Leave them to wonder." Sesshomaru kissed her, a gentle kiss that took Kagome's breath away.

'He loves me! He loves me! The annoying jerk, the damn arrogant bastard, the overgrown mutt loves me back! In his own, overly protective and possessive inu-youkai way, he loves me!'

'Told ya. Now quit being mad at him!'

'Oh, shut up.'

Kagome returned his kiss, feeling free now that she knew her feelings were returned. She ran her fingers up into his hair, savoring the silky texture. Gentle pressure encouraged her to deepen the kiss, allowing their tongues to meet and duel for dominance. Both won, and neither was defeated.

Contentment washed over the pair, holding each other in the grass. Kagome brushed silver hair away from gold eyes. "Do you regret any of this?"

"Never."

----

"The least you could have done was not rip my clothing to the point that I couldn't wear it back." Kagome was blushing as she held her haori closed. Her hakama was such a complete loss that she had not even tried to put it back on.

"Are you complaining?" Sesshomaru nuzzled her neck, nipping at her skin.

A shiver ran through Kagome. "Not really, but you need to learn to bite me in places that are easier to hide." Her fingers ran over her neck, feeling the bite mark just over her haori. "If you would have aimed just a bit lower I would not be explaining another hickie."

"You are the Lady of the Western Lands, you do not need to explain to anybody."

"You forgot the one person that is exempt from that. Rin."

"True. You must explain yourself to her, but no others."

Kagome gave up on making herself look decent. "I hope you have a plan for sneaking me back into the palace, I really don't want the guards to get this much of an eye full."

Sesshomaru growled as he swept her up into his arms. "They will not see you." He moved up into the air, flying to the palace at speeds that made Kagome's head spin. In Sesshomaru's room he set her down, whispering in her ear. "Only I get to see that much of you."

A slow, sensuous kiss threatened to send them both to bed for the rest of the day.

"Kagome-chan? Rin cannot read some of the scroll that the Captain gave her. Can Kagome-chan help?"

The couple broke apart. "Hai, Jo-chan. I'll be there in just a moment." A quick kiss for her mate, then she was heading to her own room to find clothing that was still intact. "We'll finish this later."

"Hai, koishii."

Kagome emerged from her room, neatly dressed, and caught up with Rin in the little girl's room. Memories of the afternoon replayed in her head, distracting her. 'Nope, no regrets.'

----


	26. Nothing Left to Lose: Epilogue

A/N: All done, guys! The sequel is on the way, and I am calling it Matchmaker. It will be posted on the end of this story, so everyone will know where to watch. And I'm lazy, so I don't have to start a new story this way. Big thanks to everyone who helped, reviewed, and supported this beast, it's been fun! I will see everyone in one week, I promise! darkjewel

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"My lord, I cannot let you past. Please do not kill me. Kagome-sama has need for me right now."

"If you do not wish to die, you will move."

"You know that I cannot. It is unseemly for a male to be in the birthing chambers, even the Lord of the Western Lands." Kumo stood firm, hoping that her position as assistant to the Lady would keep her safe from the Lady's mate.

"Let him in, Kumo, so I can kill him!"

Sesshomaru flinched at Kagome's scream.

"My lord, I don't believe you truly wish to be with her right now."

A loud yell echoed through the halls. "This is your fault, you bastard!"

"This Sesshomaru will wait here."

Kumo gave a low bow. "As you command, my lord."

Returning to her lady's side, Kumo tried to hide her smile. Many females yelled when birthing pups, but Kagome-sama was rather unique in her threats to her mate's person. It had the desired effect of keeping Sesshomaru-sama at bay, but it was rather unnerving.

"You should have let him in, Kumo. I would love to share some of this experience with him." Kagome was panting; her contractions were getting very close now. It would be over soon, but that did not help much right now.

"My lady, you do not want to be tempted into using your miko abilities until after your pup is born. Besides, seeing his mate in pain would make him hard to manage." The midwife put a cool towel on Kagome's forehead, not even trying to hide a smile. "I'm sure that you will have your revenge later."

Sango snorted. "If we let him in right now your pup would be an only child."

A giggle wheezed out of the exhausted miko. "I'll let you deal with him then, Sango."

Her heart's sister just grinned and held her hand as another contraction tried to pull Kagome apart. "Oh, this little one is impatient."

The midwife was checking on the progress. "Hai, you will have a new pup in your arms very soon, my lady."

"Be glad that youkai's have a shorter pregnancy than humans. You only had to carry for six months." Sango had arrived at the five month mark to support Kagome through her first birth.

"But I had morning sickness for three of those months. You have no idea how many outfits Sesshomaru went through for awhile there." Kagome gritted her teeth as her body tightened yet again. "Can I start pushing now or what?"

"Hai, my lady, it is time to push. At your next contraction, bear down and we will bring this pup into the world."

----

"Is Kagome-chan going to be okay?" Rin had been declared too young to be with Kagome, and was waiting with Sesshomaru in the corridor.

Hesitating, the lord glanced at the little girl. He could not feel Kagome fading, but she was certainly making enough noise to make him think she was dying. He had never been around a female when she was birthing her pups, so he had no grounds for comparison. The little girl looked nervous, though. Possibly even more nervous than he was.

"Hai."

That simple answer was enough for Rin. If Sesshomaru-sama said that she would be fine, then she would be fine. Soon Rin would have a little sibling to care for and play with. She would finally get to be a big sister.

The midwife's voice reached them. "Push, my lady!"

Kagome let out a loud groan, and then there was a new sound. An infant's cry echoed down the corridor to the nervous family waiting there. Rin smiled brightly and did a little dance around Sesshomaru. "Rin is a big sister!"

Sesshomaru was able to breathe again. Childbirth was always dangerous, and especially so for ningens. It was over now, Kagome was still with him, and he had a pup. Relief made him sag against the wall, his eyes closing for a moment. Rin continued to dance and giggle, trying to guess if it was a girl or a boy.

A door slid open and Kumo came out into the hallway with a small bundle in her arms. "Sesshomaru-sama, I would like to present you with your daughter."

Rin made it to Kumo first, peering down at the new pup with adoring eyes. Sesshomaru snapped back to his normal expression before looking at his new daughter. The pup had a poof of white hair and the tiny ears on the top of her head. Her eyes were just like her mother's, but the rest of her face was exactly like her father's. Carefully, he took her from Kumo and held her for the first time. Her blue eyes were focused on him, and a little hand was waving in the air. He reached out with a finger and let the pup grab on to it. The cold eyes softened as he looked at the little face.

"What is her name, Sesshomaru-sama?" Rin ran a finger over the white hair, cooing to her new sister.

"It has not been decided yet." Sesshomaru brushed past Kumo to be with his mate. Kagome looked tired, but awake and alert. She was smiling brightly at the sight of Sesshomaru with his new daughter. He moved to her side, settling his pup in her mother's arms. "Well, miko? What shall we call our daughter?"

Kagome gave him a mock glare. "I don't know, youkai, there are a couple of names we could use. I was thinking that we should call her Mizuki."

"Mizuki." Sesshomaru looked at the peaceful little face. 'Beautiful moon would be a very appropriate name for a child of my house.'

Rin clambered up onto the bed next to Kagome. "I like Mizuki. It's pretty."

"Then her name will be Mizuki."

----

Kagome was sound asleep in his bed, Mizuki curled up on her chest. Sesshomaru watched them while they were sleeping, knowing that he should be sleeping as well but his mind would not let him be. After two years they finally had a daughter. Rumors had swirled that a youkai and a miko would not be able to have offspring. The miko's purifying energy would destroy any hanyou children. Kagome had assured him that her family tended towards being slow to conceive, but she had plenty of relatives.

There was no record of a miko being mated to a youkai. Kagome had almost been afraid that the rumors were true, that she would not be able to have a child with Sesshomaru, but then she had started to be sick in the mornings. By the end of the month Sesshomaru could smell the difference in her and had surprised her by pulling her into an embrace while at a meal.

For two more months it had been a struggle for Kagome to keep food down in the mornings, and they had taken to having a pot next to the bed to avoid her having to run to the window to be sick. Despite her sickness, Kagome was delighted that she was going to be a mother. The last three months she had glowed. Fear for her pup had kept her from using any of her miko abilites while she was pregnant. There was no way to know if it would harm the pup, and she was not interested in finding out after waiting for two years.

Now he had a pup of his own. A hanyou pup. A soft sigh escaped Sesshomaru as he watched the sleeping pair. He had known from the beginning that his pups would be hanyous, but it was different to sit and look at the pup and see it right in front of him. The lords had accepted his mate, mostly because they had no interest in being purified out of existence. Now there would the matter of his heirs. While this pup was female, he was sure that there would be a son in the future. His heir would be a hanyou, and would not be acceptable to most of the other lords. Certainly it would be centuries until this became a concern, but he had to think about it now.

The pup yawned in her sleep, her fisted hand resting next to her face. Sesshomaru reached out to touch one of those tiny ears, smiling at her perfect little face. No, he would not trade his mate for a youkai, and he would not trade in this little one for a full blooded pup. He would have centuries to work and make sure that his pups would have everything they deserved. His heir would rule after him, hanyou or no. If that baka, his half-brother, could become powerful enough to challenge any youkai then his pups would be able to do so, and more.

There was no way to know just yet what his pups would be like, being a cross between a miko and a youkai. Some said that it was impossible for any miko potential to appear in a youkai, it would destroy them. Other's said that a hanyou could have some miko abilities, since they were half ningen.

Kagome's eyes slid open, glancing about until she found her mate sitting at the end of the bed. Wraping her arms around Mizuki she sat up and slid down the bed to lean against him. "What is it? You should be sleeping."

"I have been thinking."

"That's no good. You do too much of that. Come and lay down." Kagome tugged on his arm to drag him back to lie down. He gave in gracefully, moving under the blankets and pulling her into an embrace with Mizuki resting against him. "Now, what are you thinking so hard about?"

"Our pup's future."

"She's less than a day old, it's a little bit early to start planning her empire. Let's let her learn to walk first." Kagome gave him a peck on the cheek.

"If you thought it was difficult when the lord's were attempting to kill you, it will be much more difficult for our young. They are the future rulers of this land, and they are more unacceptable than you were. Many would rather that they never made it to adulthood." Sesshomaru let Mizuki hang on to his finger in her sleep.

"Then it's a good thing that our littles have such wonderful parents that will make sure that they make it to adulthood. We have time. They have started to accept me, we can force them to accept anything. Or I'll just start purifying any that annoy me."

A low chuckle rumbled through the inu-youkai. "Appealing as always, koishii."

"You have already done the impossible, you made them accept me. After just two years most of them have started to call me something other than 'that ningen'. Some of the names I've picked up haven't been very nice, but at least they dislike me for something other then being a ningen."

"Very well. We will _convince_ them to accept our daughter, and any other pups that we have. It will be very helpful when our daughter is able to defeat their sons in battle." A fierce smile had appeared on the proud father's face.

"Oh, Kami, we will never get her a mate like that! Poor Mizuki, not even a day old and your father is already seeing you as a great warrior. What will you do if she is an artist or a healer?"

"My daughter?"

It was Kagome's turn to chuckle. "It could happen, you know."

"Unlikely, but possible. It is far more likely that she will take after Rin."

"Let's not worry about that. Really, let's have Mizuki learn to walk before we start worrying about what kind of weapons to get for her."

"Hai." Sesshomaru leaned over to press a soft kiss to Kagome's lips. She pressed her mouth against his, deepening the kiss. They broke apart and gazed at each other, the unusual feeling of peace in the air.

"You still need to sleep. If Mizuki is anything like I was we won't be getting much sleep in the near future. I was a very busy baby and had my mom up all night."

"Somehow this is not surprising."

Kagome gave Sesshomaru's arm a smack before settling back down with him. Now there were two heartbeats to help Sesshomaru relax into sleep. Rin finally had a sister to take care of. Sleep was creeping up on him now that he was settled into the soft bed. One hand trailed through Kagome's hair as Mizuki held on to a finger on the other hand.

The Lord of the Western Lands finally drifted to sleep. The worries would wait for one more night. Tomorrow he would deal with his pup's future.


	27. Matchmaker

1A/N: Hi Guys, I'm back! As promised, here is the continuation of Nothing Left to Lose. This is going to have a different feel, a bit more zany. I've probably been watching too many Ranma ½ lately. Don't worry, I'll still deal with the serious stuff, but beware of chaos and large numbers of characters bouncing off of each other. R&R nice and early if you think the plot needs to be moved, or you'll be stuck with whatever my twisted mind comes up with. Anyways, I don't own any of the original characters. Let the three ring circus begin!

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The pup looked out her window, looking for anyone who would recognize or stop her. Seeing the grounds clear of authority figures she slipped out and darted to a tree. While nowhere near as fast as an adult youkai she was still pretty quick. Her ears twitched as she listened for any sign that the guards had caught on.

Darting across the courtyard the pup ran all the way to the stables. Once inside she was able to breathe again. Twin growls greeted her when she slipped into the stall with the dragon. "Hi, An-Un! Did you miss me?"

Both heads lowered down to nuzzle the pup.

"Want some exercise? Big sister has been gone all week with Aunt Sango. You must be so bored."

The dragon watched with a content expression as a saddle was dragged into the stall. The pup was rather small to be handling the heavy tack, but she used some crates to reach the dragon's back. The bridle was easier, since An-Un lowered both heads to help the pup.

Her heart pounding in her chest, the youngster climbed into the saddle. She took up the reins, for the first time on her own. "Come on, An-Un. I'll show them that I'm big enough to ride you by myself."

The dragon walked out of the stable and gave a big stretch. With a tap on his sides, An-Un took to the air, his tiny rider squealing with delight.

----

"My lady?"

Kagome glanced up from her paperwork. Her son took advantage of her distraction to grab her carefully written letter and stuff it in his mouth.

"No, Katsuro! Not food!" The pup giggled and waved his hands as Kagome pulled the paper away from him. She looked back to the guard. "Hai?"

"It's Mizuki-sama, my lady."

"Please do not tell me that my daughter has escaped again."

"Well, umm. . . "

"Why do we even bother trying to keep a guard with her. Kumo, we have to find Mizuki again. Can you take Katsuro?" Kagome handed her son off to her assistant and stormed from the room. "Really, you would think that watching an eight year old pup would not be that difficult. How did she get away this time?"

"She was taking her nap, and I did check on her! I thought she had been sleeping an awfully long time, so I went to wake her and . . . " The guard trailed off.

"Let me guess, a pillow under her blanket? You do not have children of your own, do you? Come on, I got you guys with that once myself, you should have seen it coming!"

From the courtyard Kagome sent servants and guards scrambling all over the grounds. This had become rather routine and everyone knew the usual places to check. Kagome was heading towards the stables when she heard a delighted squeal. She could see a familiar shape soaring above the trees with an equally familiar shape clinging to his back.

"Mizuki!"

----

An-Un flew through the clouds, enjoying his freedom and the funny sounds his rider made when he turned and dived. He would dip down till his claws could brush the trees, then climb until he was dodging through clouds again. There seemed to be quite a few youkai running about the grounds now, and the dragon and pup were feeling mischievous.

Mizuki clucked, urging An-Un into a dive that just skimmed the gardens. Several servants dove for cover, but one voice boomed out and brought them to a halt.

"Mizuki! You land that dragon this instant!"

An-Un was not going to argue with that voice, and neither was Mizuki. There were three sheepish expressions as they touched down by the furious miko.

"Good afternoon, mother." Mizuki slipped down and gave a bow.

"Don't you 'good afternoon' me, what on Earth were you doing? You know you are not allowed to ride An-Un without Rin or your father!"

"An-Un was bored. He has not been out all week since Rin-chan has been gone and father has been at those practices."

Kagome softened a touch. "I know you were worried about An-Un, but you upset everybody. You must stop sneaking off, and An-Un is off limits until you are bigger!"

"But mother, I am big enough!" For a moment her rather reserved daughter showed her age with the ancient argument and whine.

"If An-Un decided to take off with you could you stop him?"

"An-Un would never do that."

The dragon gave Kagome an offended glare.

"Mizuki, there is no point in arguing with me. An-Un is not mine, he is your father's. If you don't think it's fair you have to talk to him. But that doesn't change the fact you gave your guard the slip. Again. You are not going to be allowed to play with An-Un for one week."

"Nani?"

"If you take off again, it will be for two weeks. Now go back up to the palace and apologize to Kenta for taking off on him again."

"Hai, mother."

Mizuki handed the reins to her mother and sulked all the way back to the palace. Kagome scratched An-Un's noses. "I think I know the real reason why Sesshomaru is out observing those battle drills. For some peace and quiet."

The dragon grumbled deep in his chest, leaning into the grooming.

"All right, all right, I know you're lonely. I won't make her wait a whole week, but don't tell her that. Let's get you back to bed, you've had your fun for one day."

----

Sesshomaru found his mate in her room reading. She was sitting on a cushion with Katsuro in her lap and Mizuki braiding her hair with Kumo's help.

"Here, Mizuki-sama, first the left section moves to the middle, then the right section. You keep repeating the pattern and you end up with a braid."

Kagome was reading out loud to her son, quietly so as to not disturb the lesson behind her. "The winter was easier than expected, with supplies staying well above critical levels. See what good planning does, Katsuro? The avalanche was the only major source of casualties this winter." Katsuro could not care less what his mother was reading, as long as she kept talking.

The taiyoukai paused in the doorway, taking in his growing family. It was growing slowly, but he had a son. The other lords would quiet down again, now that there was an heir. It had been a long eight years to wait. Not long in terms of a youkai's life, to be certain, but a long time to try for a pup.

His mate knew he was there, of course. She could usually pinpoint his location in the palace or surrounding area, tell his mood, and could sometimes tell what he was seeing or thinking. It gave her an advantage, since he could only tell her general location and mood. He suspected that her additional abilities were a strange result of the youkai bond in a miko. It was certainly frustrating that he could never surprise her or watch her unnoticed.

Sure enough, Kagome did not even glance up before greeting him. "Good evening, Sesshomaru."

At least Mizuki was surprised. "Father! You are home early!"

"Hair! Mizuki, hair!"

"Gomen, Mama." Mizuki let go of the braid she had been tugging on. "How were the drills today, father?"

"Interesting." Sesshomaru watched with amusement as Kagome tried to untangle her hair with Katsuro helping. He rescued her by taking his son into his own arms, letting the two week old pup grab his own hair. Sinking down to sit on a cushion across from his mate, he watched as Kagome and Kumo tried to repair the damage done to Kagome's hair. No matter how her duties may change, Kumo always seemed to focus on keeping Kagome looking the part of a lady.

Mizuki perched next to her father, delighted to have him home.

"I have heard that An-Un was exercised today." Sesshomaru did not even look his daughter's way, looking instead towards her mother.

Mizuki gulped and looked at the floor.

"I was also informed that several servants were frightened by An-Un diving at them in the gardens."

The pup sank even further into her cushion.

"How close to the ground was An-Un?"

"Um, about my height?" Mizuki whispered.

"Hn."

Kagome could not mistake that quirk of his mouth. He looked down right proud. "Oh, no you don't! She is not supposed to be riding An-Un without permission. I don't care how proud you may be of her riding, she can't keep sneaking off like that!"

"The guards are unable to watch this one." Gold eyes locked onto his mate's. "Like another female I know."

The miko looked away with a sheepish expression.

"Perhaps we should put a bell on her."

Mizuki went white. "Nani? Oh, no, I promise I'll be good. Please, father, don't make me wear a bell."

"If the guards are unable to watch over you they will need assistance." Kagome could feel the amusement, but Sesshomaru was giving no hints to his daughter.

"I will not sneak away again."

"Perhaps you should go and write a letter to your mother with your promise."

"Hai, father!" Mizuki bowed politely before going to her own room.

"Where on Earth did you get an idea like that?" Kagome was impressed with the effect that a bell had on her daughter.

"My mother once threatened to do the same to me." Sesshomaru could not resist a faint smile as Kagome toppled over, laughing hysterically.

"She what? Oh, Kami, I can't even imagine."

"That one behaves very much as I did as a pup. Embarrassment will bring her in to line faster than any other threat. Did she truly have An-Un so close to the ground?"

"Oh yes, that daughter of yours was that close to the ground at full speed. All of the servants were running for cover. She was worried that An-Un was getting bored. When she gets older we are going to have a problem. Rin adores An-Un, but Mizuki is happiest when she is in the air."

Sesshomaru carefully pulled his hair away from his son's mouth. "We will find a mount for Mizuki. I was not much older than she is now when I started to steal away to the stables to ride my father's mount."

"She is you all over again, isn't she?" Kagome's eyes were soft as she envisioned a tiny Sesshomaru sneaking off to the stables.

"Hai. She has your eyes, but her spirit is very like mine."

Katsuro giggled and waved his arms. Kagome moved so that she would touch her son's midnight hair. "And this one. What will you be like, Katsuro? Will you be quiet like Mizuki, or are you going to be more like me?"

"If last night is any indication, he is completely your son."

The only mature response Kagome could come up with was to stick out her tongue. "Just because Mizuki slept like a cat does not make that normal for children. And I will be turning in soon, since I got even less sleep than you."

"But first we must discuss our visitors."

"What's to discuss? Merkamou is coming to see Katsuro next week, and he promised no trouble from his retainers."

"And the Lord of the North."

"Since when?" The miko glared at her mate. "I didn't hear anything about this."

"I received word today. He will be coming to see my heir. He usually travels alone, but he will be bringing his eldest son. It is customary to visit when the first son is born."

"Well, that's not too bad. I've passed messages back and forth with him and he seems reasonable enough. So it's two lords, one heir, and whoever Merkamou drags along. Anyone coming from the East?"

While Sesshomaru would not roll his eyes, not even when alone with Kagome, he was still sorely tempted. "If someone does come it will be a low ranking noble that is being punished. Not something to worry about."

"Well, I for one am looking forward to seeing Merkamou again. Has he had any luck finding a mate?"

"If he has, word has not reached me."

Kagome's mind was already racing. "We do have some attractive ladies here that I could introduce him to. Does the Northern Lord have any unmated daughters?"

A suspicious glare was forming on Sesshomaru's face. "What are you planning, miko?"

"What are you worried about, youkai? I want Merkamou to settle in and have some chicks of his own. I haven't had much luck with Rin, so maybe it will be easier to find a female for Merkamou. Or the Northern Lord's son."

A faint feeling drifted across Sesshomaru's mind, rather like a trap closing. "Miko . . . "

"Oh, come on, we have some of the most eligible males in Japan coming here. It would be wonderful to help them find mates."

'I believe that it would be safer to declare war than to go along with this. If it were possible to stop her I would, but the past decade has shown me many things. The most important of these is that Kagome is like a force of nature. Uncontrollable and unstoppable.'


	28. Secrets

A/N: The first one was kind of short, so here is the second one. I'm so excited that I own some stuff, but none of the originals.

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"Rin-chan! I wasn't planning on seeing you for another week! Where's Sango?"

The graceful teenager gave Kagome one of her famous smiles. "Sango-chan is meeting with some of Sesshomaru-sama's scouts about a youkai that has been causing trouble. The scouts cannot find it, so Sango is going to track it with me for practice."

"Well, as long as you are still planning on coming back for next week. It seems that we are going to be invaded and I already have my hands full with the pups. Besides, Merkamou is going to want to see his little fledgling."

Rin rolled her eyes. "I am not a fledgling, remember? I am a merlin. He will be disappointed that I do not have more stories for him, but I will still be glad to see him."

"Sit, Rin-chan. How has your training been going?" Kagome set Katsuro in his little nest of blankets next to her desk so she could concentrate on Rin. The once little girl was now a young woman, dressed in armor similar to Sango's but accented in royal blue. A matched pair of katanas hung at her side, and Rin's hand never strayed too far from them. The katanas had been a gift from Sesshomaru after she had defeated a nasty worm youkai on her own a few years back.

"It is going well. She actually let me try her weapon. Kami, I do not know how she can deal with that thing! I just about knocked my own head off!"

A small snort escaped Kagome. "That thing has always scared me. But it is the only thing that keeps Mirokou in line."

"Not anymore. His hands are completely full watching over Sango's litter. While she is out destroying youkai he must watch her pups. It is most confusing."

The feeling of coming from another world washed over Kagome. Aside from Sesshomaru nobody knew about her life in the future. 'I think it's cute, but in this time it is down right unbelievable for the man to stay home. Poor Mirokou.'

"So, any luck with that young lord you saved?"

Rin blushed. "Kagome-chan! No, that will not happen. He screamed like a girl and hid when the youkai attacked his caravan."

"But he is a strong, handsome man, and royal for a ningen. He has inquired after you."

"No, Kagome-chan. I will not mate someone who runs and hides when there is danger."

Groaning, Kagome flopped on her back. "Rin, you are most difficult to find a suitor for. Ningens are too weak. Heck, most of the youkai are too weak. Have you considered giving any of these males a chance on something other then brawn?"

"That's not fair." Rin crossed her arms and glared. "I give them all a chance."

"Oh, really? How many of your would be suitors have needed a healer after meeting you?"

"Two of those males attempted to take liberties. They do not count!"

"Maybe we can try a normal courtship, with a no challenges rule. If you get to know them before you pound them . . ."

"They will be horrified when they find out later that their mate can defeat them." A sad sigh deflated the young warrior. "I cannot help it. I have worked too hard for my mate to be embarrassed by me."

"Rin-chan, don't ever be embarrassed. Even Sango says that you will be one of the best exterminators ever. We will find someone for you." Kagome pulled herself up so she could smile at the girl who was friend, sister, and daughter to her. "The real problem is Sesshomaru."

"Nani?"

"You grew up with the most powerful of the youkai watching over you. Who can measure up to that?"

"And a powerful miko. Kagome-chan, I want what you have. A partner. You watch his back, and he watches yours. I do not want a male that will not let me help him, or one who is helpless! And every ningen male I've met is helpless!" Now it was Rin's turn to flop over. "Honestly, how do they survive? And dishonorable! So many times I have had things yelled at me, or they have tried to take liberties. Honestly, Kagome-chan, I believe I would be happier with a youkai!"

'I think so too. Kami, what are we going to do with her? She is still a ningen and not acceptable to the youkai strong enough to interest her. To say nothing about the whole exterminator thing.' Kagome moved so she was next to Rin and started to play with her hair. 'She was raised as an inu-youkai pup. She is much too educated for a ningen female in this time, and the fighting skills would drive off almost any ningen male. An inu-youkai would never yell insults at a female or try to touch her without permission. What have we done?'

"How am I supposed to find someone?" Rin was fidgeting with her clothes, a habit she had never lost.

"It just happens, Jo-chan. You remember how I ended up here, right? Big scary youkai that had tried to kill me scoops me up and drops me off here to stay with his ward? And then he ends up as my mate? If I had any sense I should have run as soon as I got the chance, but I didn't. It worked out in the end."

"I suppose. I guess this is not like that youkai we are tracking. I can not just hunt it down and kill it."

"Jo-chan, if you keep talking like that I am never going to be able to convince a male to come here again, Sesshomaru's ward or no. You cannot hunt down a mate, whack him over the head, and drag him home."

A contemplative look had settled on Rin's features. "It would be easier, though. And faster."

Rin squealed when Kagome tickled her, making her squirm away. Katsuro squealed back, his nap ended.

"Now you get to deal with your little brother." The squirming pup was dumped onto Rin's chest. "Have fun. I am going to go say hi to Sango before you two take off to whack males over the head."

Burbling happily, Katsuro's hands made a beeline for the katanas at Rin's waist.

"No, Katsuro! Not food!"

The giggling pup was pulled into her arms as she stood up. The emerald green eyes stared at her chocolate ones, tiny black ears twitching about. Katsuro was a happy, loving, noisy pup and Rin adored him.

"You are going to be a handsome boy, aren't you Katsuro?" The exterminator tossed the pup in the air, enjoying his squeals of delight. "And your big sister Rin will teach you how to handle a sword, and you can come out hunting with her. How does that sound?"

Katsuro giggled and grabbed onto some loose hair.

"Ow! Let go, pup! Ow ow ow!"

----

The neko-youkai faded away to a tiny dot, taking Kagome's best friend and adopted daughter with her. Mizuki sighed next to her. The pup missed her big sister, and Rin had been gone a lot since Sango had decided to take her out for some hands-on training.

"Come on, Mizuki. The nurse has Katsuro, so let's do something. What would you like?"

"Can we play in the gardens? You can hide and I can track you."

'Any other pup would have said hide and seek, but not Mizuki. I think she was born thinking she was an adult.'

Mother and daughter played in the woods for hours. Kagome found it rather difficult to hide from her hanyou daughter's nose, but it got Mizuki out and laughing. This pup was far too serious.

"Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"When will Rin-chan be back?"

Kagome caught her daughter and pulled her into her lap, running her fingers through the silver hair and starting a braid. "Soon. We have guests coming and Rin is going to need to help me."

"I can help too, Mama. Who is coming?" Mizuki started to pick some flowers that were just barely in reach and chain them together.

"Merkamou-sama, Hideaki-sama, and his son. Not too many, but since they are important there will be a lot of work. And Merkamou-sama likes to bring his friends with him when he travels. They shouldn't be here for very long though."

"I want to help. What can I do to help you, Mama?"

The shining hair was now neatly braided. Kagome tied it off with the tie from her own hair and started to steal flowers from her daughter's pile to weave in. "Well, I think you will be able to help me when I am getting things organized. Rin will be too busy, and she is usually in charge of the flowers for the guest rooms. Do you want to help her with that? And I'm sure I can find plenty for you to do to be a good hostess. Even Kumo will need help, and your writing has gotten good enough that you could help her as well."

"Hai, Mama! I can help you, Rin-chan, and Kumo-sama."

"Thank you, sugar."

"Mama, you know I don't like it when you call me that." Mizuki put on her best grown up face.

"Oh, but you are my little sugar plum, aren't you?" She said in a high-pitched, sugary sweet voice that made Mizuki try to squirm away, but Kagome smothered her in a hug. "You are my sweetest little sweetie, aren't you?"

"Ah! Help!" Mizuki could not help laughing at her Mama as Kagome covered her head in kisses. "You just finished my hair, and now you will mess it up!"

"Don't worry, Mizuki, I'll make sure you look presentable before we go back up to the palace."

Suitably pacified, Mizuki leaned back into her mother's arms in a rare show of affection. "I'll help with Katsuro, too. I'm his big sister, after all."

"Hai. And a wonderful one. I'm sure that you will take fabulous care of your little brother."

----

Her little daughter was down for a nap, and Kagome was trying to make it through the messages she had received that day. A note from Lady Akira caught her eyes. It was not her secretary's handwriting, but the flowing calligraphy of the lady herself.

'Uh-oh.' It felt as though the temperature in the room had dropped. Kagome opened the note, catching the pressed sakura blossom that fell out. 'Double uh-oh.'

_Kagome-sama,_

_My congratulations on the birth of Lord Sesshomaru's heir. An emissary has been dispatched to bring our felicitations to you. My mate was quite interested in the well being of your offspring._

_The court is restless with spring coming upon us so quickly. Perhaps you have noticed the same in your lands? The males in particular are looking for something new to entertain them._

_How are your offspring, Kagome-sama? Especially the young heir? Please let me know when the emissary arrives, it should be soon after this missive._

_Peace,_

_Lady Akira_

'Damn.'

Lady Akira hated her mate, the dragon youkai that ruled the Eastern Lands. It was an arranged partnership, without the bond that came with youkai that mated for life. Akira was actually a rather gentle soul and spent most of her time and considerable power trying to keep her mate in check. The Lady of the East and the Lady of the West had formed a partnership to try and keep war from breaking out.

'And her mate has sent an assassin for my pups. Damn him to hell! That's low, even for you, Ryuutaisho!'

Both ladies knew that their messages would be intercepted and read. The sakura blossom was a warning, as well as identifying the note as coming from Akira. By tradition the Ladies would include a flower in their messages to verify who the sender was and let the receiver know that the message was not as it seemed. It was Kumo that had let Kagome in on this female world of secret messages and allies. Without Kumo's help she would have been lost in a sea of double meanings and subtle clues.

Intrigue was quickly becoming a way of life for Kagome. Kumo had seen the sakura blossom and was staring at the note, her body suddenly tense.

"Hai, Kumo. It's from Lady Akira. We have a problem. I think I am going to need to recall Rin as back up. Can you find the Captain for me?"

The assistant bowed and hurried out of the room. The Captain had come out of retirement to be the head of Kagome's personal guard and to oversee the safety of the lady and her pups.

Chewing on her bottom lip Kagome wrote a note back to Lady Akira.

_Akira-sama,_

_I thank you for your kind thoughts. My pups are well, and my Lord's ward is returning tomorrow to help receive guests._

_Perhaps the weather is more turbulent in your lands. Things are quite peaceful here, with nothing more than the occasional hunt to keep the males occupied._

_I will keep watch for your emissary and send word of his safe arrival._

_My best wishes to you and your young._

_Peace,_

_Lady Kagome_

'Akira knows who Rin is, so that should let her know that I'm ready for trouble.' Kagome pulled a pressed flower from a box on her desk to include in her note. She would include a honey suckle blossom so that Lady Akira would know it was from her. The Lady of the North would include some dried lavender in her personal notes, on the two occasions that she had needed to work with Kagome directly. The Lord of the North was much more reasonable then some of the other lords, and his mate did not often interfere.

'At least one of the taiyoukai is reasonable. I need to find a nice, sensible female for Merkamou. Preferably one that can hold her own in a fight. Then I can keep tabs on what is going on in the South. I may love that troublemaker, but I still need to keep an eye on him. He can be so rash!'

The note was sealed and set aside to wait for a messenger.

Heavy footsteps announced the Captain's arrival. He bowed, then gave Kagome a glare. "You have not returned to your lessons."

'Caught.' A nervous giggle burbled forth from Kagome as she messed with things on her desk. "Oh, come on, I just had a pup."

Silent glare.

"Fine, fine, tomorrow. You're just bored with Rin away. She'll be back soon and you can torture her instead of me."

"You are going to get soft, miko."

'Ten years and he still won't use my name unless he has to. He's worse then Sesshomaru!' Kagome crossed her arms and glared back. "Do you want to go through that wall? I'm not carrying a pup right now so I can arrange it."

The two engaged in a staring match until Kumo cleared her throat, making both look her way. "The note, my lady?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. I got a note from Lady Akira. It seems that we have an assassin coming for the pups." Kagome drummed her fingers on her desk. "I'm not sure if it's the emissary or someone else. Maybe both. I wish she could have been more specific."

"We have not had an attempt in two years, since that snake attacked Mizuki. Are you sure about this?"

"Very. We can't just kill the emissary, that would start a war. Somehow we have to keep the pups safe even with guests here."

"And Mizuki taking off every chance she gets." The Captain sighed and sat across from Kagome. "Well, miko? How are we going to protect those pups of yours?"


	29. When It Rains

A/N: The updates may not be as rapid fire, since my class has started up again. Accounting sucks. Besides, this story is not completely written, unlike the last one, so early reviews will have the chance of changing what happens! It is outlined, and sitting at 27 chapters right now, but I just realized I missed something, so it's closer to 30. I've only written to chapter 14 so far. And why didn't anyone tell me that fanfiction was messing up my formatting? How embarrassing, I had to update every chapter. Oh, jo-chan is a term of endearment, like 'hon'. Anyways, this one is pretty long, so it should make up for the extra time. R&R, since it is still early enough to steer me around.

----

'When it rains, it pours.'

Kagome rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to force the headache away. 'After this we are starting a 'no visitor' policy. Anytime somebody comes to visit the idea just blows up and I end up working like crazy to avoid any murders or mass destruction. Sesshomaru should not be this popular.'

The miko was alone in her study. The Captain was organizing her guard while Kumo and Mizuki were organizing the guest rooms. At least she had help this time. And now she was going to track down her adopted daughter and best friend so they could come back and help protect her pups. A servant was already running down to the stable to get Ah-Un ready to fly.

Braiding her hair back so that it would not get tangled in the flight, Kagome did not notice the servant in her doorway until he cleared his throat.

"Eep!" The Lady tipped over and landed on her side, her fingers caught in her hair, as she startled at the sudden sound.

"My lady, a guest has arrived."

"Already? Geez, Akira, you could have given me some more warning then a couple of hours. Is he alone? Does he look dangerous?"

The servant looked befuddled. "He is alone. He does not look any more dangerous than is usual for a taiyoukai, my lady."

"Taiyoukai? Who the heck did Ryuutaisho send?" Kagome's heart raced at the idea of a taiyoukai assassin standing in her reception hall.

"My lady? Why would the Lord of the South be sent by the Lord of the East?"

"The Lord of the . . . it's Merkamou?"

"Hai, my lady."

"That's impossible, he is not supposed to be here until . . . oh, never mind. I should have known. Impatient bird. I will be right there."

The relieved servant bowed himself out, leaving Kagome alone to growl to herself. 'Of course he is here early. No self control.'

The first order of business was to find Kumo and let her know that at least one guest was here early. Then she could greet the headstrong hawk that ruled the southern lands.

----

For the first time in years Merkamou was excited to be somewhere. He had been so bored in his own lands, and the opportunity to spend time in Sesshomaru's palace was a welcome diversion. With those two ningens this was just about the most entertaining place he knew. The plan when he left had been to find a mate and raise a brood of his own to entertain him. However, the females that he had met were boring in the extreme, none holding his attention long enough to progress the courtship past a few meetings. A soft sigh blew a stray feather away from his face. Eventually he would settle for one of those calm, sensible females that his court kept throwing at him, but he longed for a female with some fire.

Footsteps called his attention to the door of the hall. A familiar figure moved into the room, an exasperated look on her face. Her hair was in a messy braid down her back, and she was dressed in a hakama and haori. He had missed the little miko. With a bright smile he swept her a dramatic bow.

"Merkamou-sama! What a surprise to find you here a whole week early." Kagome gave him a glare before breaking into a smile. "I will admit to being glad to see you here, even if you are quite early, my lord. A loyal ally is always a welcome sight."

"Kagome-sama, I could not resist the call to return to this place. I have been so bored away from Sesshomaru-sama's court, and the idea of seeing you drove me to come as quickly as possible."

The bright laugh from the miko echoed off the walls, bringing a smile to Merkamou's face. "I do not think my lord would be amused to find that his court is being described as a place of entertainment. Fortunately for you, he is not here right now. Actually, there is nobody to greet you but me, but that is what happens when you show up unannounced."

"Where is your mate? Not far, I would assume."

"No, he's watching over some exercises. He is . . ." Kagome's eyes unfocused as she stared out into space. "He is just north of here, not too far. It's interesting, whatever he's watching. At least he's not bored like he was yesterday."

It was slightly unnerving to know that Kagome could track her mate like that. 'Perhaps being mated is not all it's cracked up to be. I've never seen a hawk's mate do that, so hopefully it is an inu-youkai thing.'

"Since he is in a good mood we could probably just go interrupt them. I'm sure he would not mind having another pair of eyes while they are arguing over strategy. I was about to head out on Ah-Un to go to my friend's village. My mate would probably be annoyed if you rode behind me, though." Kagome tipped her head to the side, considering.

"Do not worry, Kagome-sama. I will be able to keep up with that flying beast. If you will lead me to Sesshomaru-sama I will entertain myself there, leaving you free to go to your friend."

"Beautiful."

In the courtyard Ah-Un was waiting patiently, using the servant holding him as a scratching post. The sight of the miko caught first one head's attention, then the other. Kagome stopped to pet each head before climbing into the saddle and taking up the reins. She was not the fearless rider that Mizuki was, but she did know how to control the dragon well enough to get around in a pinch. A little cluck sent her mount into the air. There was a flash of light, and a streak of fire took to the sky at her side. Kagome gave Merkamou's flame form a surprised look, then directed Ah-Un to the field where Sesshomaru was working.

Skimming over the forest brought a grin to Kagome's face. Ah-Un was excited to be out of the stall again, and was stretching out to enjoy the wind. Merkamou was not having any trouble keeping up, so the reins were loosened and the dragon was allowed to pick his own pace. Trees turned to a blur as the wind made the miko squeeze her eyes half shut. In a matter of minutes they were soaring over a field where two groups of about ten were fighting with each other, engaging in a skirmish of one kind or another.

Hovering over the field Kagome spotted her mate off to the side. It was not hard to find the single youkai dressed in all white with knee length white hair, even without a connection. "Well, Merkamou-sama, do you think you will find this entertaining enough?"

"Hai, but I do believe that things are about to be even more entertaining." The voice coming from the ball of flames sounded like the hissing, snapping, and crackling of a campfire, but was understandable.

"How so?"

"Look carefully to the north. See the birds taking wing?"

The ningen's eyes could barely see some movement in the distance. "Not really."

"There is something large in the trees, heading this way. Rather rapidly, it would seem."

Kagome squinted into the distance, now able to see the disturbed birds coming closer. She swung Ah-Un into a dive, aiming for her mate. "Sesshomaru!"

Amber eyes swung up to the sky, not surprised to see his mate, but surprised to see her diving the dragon at him.

"Sesshomaru, there is something coming. Merkamou-sama saw the birds taking off, so it looks like its big." Ah-Un hovered off of the ground, bringing Kagome into yelling distance, but ready to take to the open air again.

"It is probably that youkai that has been causing problems. It seems that we have found it, or rather that it has found us." Sesshomaru turned to one of his generals. 'And of course my men are not properly armed to deal with any kind of a threat. These are only light skirmishers.' "Recall the troops, they are not armed for this. There is no need to lose more soldiers then necessary. Kagome, you should go back to the air and try to see what is coming."

Streaking back up to Merkamou, Kagome tried to see what was coming with her weak eyes. "What do you see, Merkamou-sama?"

"Nothing more then some glances, but it is getting close. I have also seen a neko-youkai approaching."

"Neko-youkai?" Blue eyes swept the sky, quickly finding the approaching youkai. "Kirara! That's Sango's mount! She must have been tracking the youkai. Hopefully she will get here before whatever that thing is starts to shred Sesshomaru's troops."

"Who is this Sango?"

"The last of the youkai exterminators, and a dear friend of mine. She is married to a monk that is also a friend of mine, and they are trying to rebuild her village and the youkai exterminators." Kirara was racing towards them, her eyes on the large shape crashing through the forest. It seemed that the neko-youkai would arrive at almost the same instant that the youkai did.

"You keep odd company, Kagome-sama." Merkamou flickered, zig-zagging in the air. "This is a large youkai, can this ningen handle it?"

"She isn't alone. She has a trainee." Kagome bit back who the trainee was. 'Let Merkamou figure it out on his own.'

"This should prove to be most entertaining."

A roar echoed through the forest, the youkai crashing through the last of the trees to stop in the clearing, glaring at the retreating soldiers. The creature looked like a bear, but it was the size of Kagome's home in the future. Red eyes rolled in its head as claws sliced through the ground. It may not have been a great strategist, but it would be tough to kill and could do considerable damage with those claws.

Kirara answered with a roar of her own, distracting the bear from the escaping troops. Sesshomaru had his own sword drawn, but he would wait and let Sango and Rin make the kill. Only if it looked like his ward was in trouble would he interfere. This was part of Rin's training after all. He watched with a blank expression as Sango hoisted her boomerang over her head and let it fly at the beast with a mighty yell, her own expression hidden behind her poison mask.

The boomerang took a chunk out of the bear's back on its first pass, then a chunk out of the neck on its second pass. The bear roared in pain, rearing up to swipe its claws at Kirara. The fire cat dodged, twisting away to give her passengers a second shot.

Merkamou watched with fascination as the two armored and masked ningens attacked the beast. The first attack had been impressive, the weapon wielded with great skill. Now the second ningen was leaping from the back of the cat, drawing two katanas as she fell and slamming them into the bear. The controlled fall drove the blades through the bear's side and dragged them half way down the side. One of the blades was snatched free of her opponent and slashed across the bear's eyes as he turned to crush his attacker with his jaws.

The ningen was still hanging from one blade in the bear's side. As the bear staggered and started to fall, the second blade was pulled free from the bear. The beast landed on the opposite side, thrashing in pain. Another attack from the mounted exterminator took a massive chunk out of the side of the bear, ensuring that he would not be getting up any time soon. The two katanas flashed in the sun as the figure in blue leapt into the air, slashing through the damaged neck of her opponent and landing in a crouch as her opponent collapsed to the ground behind her, the head was now being held on by a strip of muscle and nothing else. Warily, the ningen circled to the front of the beast and slammed a blade through the creature's eye, ramming into the brain and ensuring that he was dead.

Silence hung over the clearing as the neko-youkai landed, reuniting the two exterminators. Merkamou let out a soft hiss, a sound that Kagome guessed was a chuckle. "I am impressed with your friend and her trainee. Your friend is the older one dressed in pink, correct?"

"Hai."

"And the trainee is the one dressed in blue. She is a fiery one, leaping from the neko-youkai like that. Very interesting." The youkai's sight was caught on the female that was now cleaning off her blades and putting them away. She moved with the grace of a natural fighter, oozing confidence as she discussed the fight with her instructor. "Perhaps you could introduce her to me."

Fighting down a grin, Kagome nodded. "As long as you are willing to behave yourself."

"Of course, Kagome-sama."

The two exterminator's looked up as Ah-Un settled to the ground. The streak of fire swirled and turned back into the taiyoukai, his eyes locked on the two ningen. Kagome could feel a flash of irritation from her mate as he moved over to join them.

"Merkamou-sama, this is Sango-san, the youkai exterminator and my dear friend."

Merkamou bowed to the fighter, a genuine smile on his face. "It was a pleasure to see you in action, Sango-san. And your trainee as well."

Sango untied her mask, returning it to her sash. "It is wonderful to meet you at last, my lord. You have already met my trainee, if I remember correctly."

"Have I?" The gold eyes flicked over to the second ningen, fidgeting with her sash. 'Now this is what a female should be like. She does have an appealing look in that armor, and she fights like a fury. She reminds me of someone, with the fidgeting. Who was it?' "It is difficult with the mask. Please, my lady, forgive me but may I ask your name? I wish to know who this talented fighter is."

"Merkamou-sama, you truly do not recognize me?" The voice behind the mask was rough from it's covering, giving the mystified taiyoukai no clues. It did not help that Sesshomaru was staring at him like it was obvious and Kagome was hiding her mouth behind her hand, giggling.

Graceful fingers untied the mask, returning it to her sash. "I have changed, I realize, but I would think that Merkamou-sama would recognize his little merlin."

Absolute shock. That was the only way Kagome could describe the look on Merkamou's face. Mind numbing amazement ran a close second. "Merkamou-sama, you remember Rin-san, of course."

It took a few seconds before Merkamou could make his mouth work again. "Rin-san! Kami, the fledgling has indeed grown to an adult. Merlin, none could recognize you now. When I last saw you, you were a little thing, just to my waist. Now look at you! And your fighting, you have developed a style all your own. You did not mention any of this in your letters."

Rin blushed at Kagome's questioning look. No one but Jaken knew that Rin and Merkamou had kept in contact over the last ten years, and Jaken only knew because he had found one of her notes. "I did not think that it was worth mentioning."

"Merkamou-sama." Disaster averted, Sesshomaru would now deal with his visitor. "You are early."

"Do you think I could stay away when entertainment like this was waiting for me, Sesshomaru-sama?"

A soft growl rumbled through the inu-youkai chest. 'Annoying, loud, impatient. And Kagome would call him a friend of mine. The miko needs to have her reasoning checked.' His growls made Kagome set her hand on his arm, calming him. A thankful glance, then he could focus on the annoying taiyoukai. "Entertainment is the only reason for your early arrival?"

"Of course, Sesshomaru-sama. If I had known that my little merlin had grown to such a fighter I would have come even sooner. My court is a dull place compared to your own."

"Hai." 'I recall the dull court of days past with great fondness.'

"Well, Merkamou-sama, it seems that I will not have to travel the countryside looking for my friend, so we may return to the palace at your leisure."

Sango caught what Kagome was saying. "Why were you looking for me, Kagome-chan?"

"Oh, umm, we can talk about it later, okay?" Kagome gave her friend a pleading look, hoping that she would drop it until they were back. Merkamou would probably be told, but the general and all of the soldiers were still within ear-shot. "Sesshomaru, will you be continuing your exercises today?"

"Doubtful. They will be occupied with removing the corpse so that this field is usable for tomorrow."

The general heard the comment and started to direct clean up. It was not how he wanted to spend his time, but if that what was his commander wished then he would do it. No one was foolish enough to disagree with the taiyoukai.

"Does this mean that you will be returning with me?" A hopeful look, combined with a perfect pair of puppy eyes, ensured that her mate would be returning with her.

"Hai."

Kagome gave his hand a squeeze, knowing better than to show a larger display of affection then that when there was an audience. "Come on, you can ride back with me on Ah-Un. Sango-chan, Rin-chan, can you two come straight back to the palace?"

"Hai, Kagome-chan. Our hunt ended much faster then planned, and was not much of a lesson in tracking. We will have to try again later." Sango swung onto Kirara, pulling Rin up behind her. "It was still a good fight for Rin-chan to practice with, though. There are not many of the very large youkai running about since the Shikon jewel vanished."

"Thank goodness." Sesshomaru had settled behind Kagome, his hands resting on her waist making her heart beat a bit faster. Trying to act as though nothing was happening, she kept her attention on Sango. "Lets get back, I'm sure you two would like to get cleaned up."

"Hai, I do not much care for the smell of bear guts." Rin was still trying to get some of the gore off of her arm, making Sango roll her eyes.

"Leave it, Rin-chan, before you fall off. Do you want to end up flat on your back with the healer? Again?" Sango glared back over her shoulder at her trainee.

"Go, Ah-Un." Kagome whispered to the dragon, tapping his sides with her heels. Ah-Un launched himself into the air, easily leaving Kirara behind. Merkamou was staying with the two exterminators, leaving Kagome and Sesshomaru for a few minutes of peace and quiet.

"I am not surprised at his early arrival." The hands at her waist pulled her back slightly to press against him. "He never arrives as planned."

"Hai, but I am glad to see him. Trouble is brewing." One of the hands guiding the dragon slipped from the reins to rest on her mate's arm. "We will deal with it when we get back. Kami, I am already tired of this. Why can't they just send us a fruit basket or something?"

"Fruit basket?"

"A common gift from my time. I'd rather they just sent something then come themselves and make such a mess of things."

"Hai." Sesshomaru pressed his lips to the side of Kagome's neck, just behind her jawline. "Unfortunately, we cannot stop them now."

"I know." The kiss sent a shiver down her spine. "I can still wish, though."

"I also wish that we could be left in peace, so that we would only have to deal with annoying each other. And the pups."

"Ah, yes. The pups can be every bit as troublesome as all of the taiyoukai in Japan combined."

----

"So, you have an emissary that is probably an assassin, and knowing Ryuutaisho he is not the only one. At least you know that it is coming." Merkamou did not look surprised. It was just the sort of thing he would expect from that dragon.

"Hai. Now we must concentrate on keeping the pups far away from danger, since we cannot just kill him when he walks through the gates." Sipping at her tea, Kagome was still running through options in her mind. As though the mention had brought her, Mizuki opened the door and slipped in, bowing to the adults. "Mizuki, come and have your dinner. Where have you been, pup?"

Keeping her face in the expressionless mask that her father used, Mizuki moved to sit by her mother. "I was assisting Kumo-sama, mother." Her sapphire eyes flicked to the unknown youkai before returning to her dinner.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mizuki. Mizuki, this is Merkamou-sama, Lord of the Southern Lands. Merkamou-sama, this is my daughter Mizuki." Kagome watched with pride as Mizuki rose to bow to their guest.

"It is an honor, my lord." With a natural grace that was all her father the pup settled back into her place, carefully lifting her chopsticks and concentrating on her meal. Every inch of her was the proper daughter of a great lord.

"The honor is all mine, Mizuki-san. Sesshomaru-sama, I can certainly see that this is your daughter. The resemblance is uncanny." Merkamou was fighting down a smile at the very reserved pup, such a contrast to the miko that sat next to her.

"Arigato." Pride was visible for an instant, focused on his daughter, before the usual mask returned.

Rin, for her part, was fighting the urge to roll her eyes. 'Mizuki is always so worried about being proper. If she had any idea what Merkamou was truly like she would not be so formal.' She elbowed Sango, who was trying not to giggle. Kagome glared at the both of them, surprised that Sango was part of the trouble at the table. Usually it was just Rin.

"Merkamou-sama, I have not heard of your lands yet. How have things been for you?" The bright smile and alert eyes that Kagome directed at him was all Merkamou needed to launch into an animated story. Appropriate for the pup, of course.

"He will keep this up all night now, but the stories are great." Rin was whispering to Sango, while the older exterminator bit down on another giggle. A new glare from Kagome made them both sit up straight and pay attention to their guest.

Dinner was cleared away as Merkamou regaled them with court gossip. Kagome experienced déjà vu as she listened to him. Rin was grown now, her place taken by Mizuki while she sat next to Sango, but the room was the same and the youkai were unchanged. Some of the tension from the day flowed out of Kagome's shoulders as she enjoyed the lighthearted tales of romance and bickering that came from his court. Her daughter was fascinated, her bright blue eyes focused on the lord with unwavering attention. Not at all like the young Rin, but rather like her father when he saw something interesting.

When she noticed Mizuki nodding off, Kagome called a stop to the stories. "I am sorry, my lord, but I believe that my daughter is ready for her own room. Mizuki, would you like to say good night to our guest?"

Looking a little out of it, Mizuki climbed to her feet and bowed to Merkamou. "Good evening, Merkamou-sama. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

"I'll be right back." Kagome took her pup by the arm and guided her half-asleep form out of the room.

"She is a lovely pup, Sesshomaru-sama. I am surprised that she has her mother's eyes, but acts so little like her." Sipping his tea, Merkamou gazed at the door where the mother and daughter had just left.

Rin chuckled. "Oh, she has her moments. I have seen her in a temper tantrum that would blast your ears off. I love her, but sometimes she needs to enjoy herself. She is in such a hurry to grow up that she is missing out on being a pup."

"Not something you did, merlin. Perhaps that is why I am having difficulty in adjusting to the change. You have yet to lose that sense of wonder."

"And when can we expect to hear of your own young?" Rin wanted to get the conversation off of herself.

"That would require a mate, and that search is on going. Does your miko have a sister, Sesshomaru-sama? It would make the search faster." A teasing light was in the youkai's eyes as he turned to his host.

"No."

"Ah, well, I will just accept whatever the court has decided to saddle me with. After spending time in your household I find that the average female is quite dull."

"Hn." 'Kami save you from interesting females.'

"Merkamou-sama, I find it difficult to believe that the Lord of the Southern Lands is suffering from a lack of possible mates." Sango was giving him that look that said quite clearly that she did not believe him.

"Oh, my lady exterminator, you have no idea how many possible mates there are being foisted upon me every day. The problem is in finding an acceptable one. Now that is the difficult task. Perhaps Sesshomaru-sama or Hideaki-sama will be able to assist me in this search."

"You would have better luck asking Kagome, she has more of an interest in such things." The deadpan expression gave away nothing of Sesshomaru's amusement. 'She is already plotting your demise, foolish one. And you will walk into that trap with open arms.'

"An excellent suggestion, Sesshomaru-sama." Merkamou rose from his place. "It has been a long journey, so I will take my leave of you. Until the morning Sesshomaru-sama, Sango-san, merlin."

The urge to stick her tongue out at the taiyoukai was overwhelming, but Rin fought it down. 'Later, when Sesshomaru-sama is not watching.'

Now it was Sango's turn to stretch. "I believe that I will turn in as well. Come, Rin-chan, we have had a long day. You can show me which room I am staying in, since there is another guest and I do not think he would appreciate it if I stumbled into the wrong room."

With a quick bow to Sesshomaru, Rin led her instructor out of the room and into the dark palace. Alone in the dining room, the inu-youkai could stretch and shake some of the tension out of his shoulders. What a miserable day. The idea of joining his mate in their rooms was sounding fabulous. Moving silently through the halls, he watched as Kagome backed out of Mizuki's room. She flashed a smile at her mate before moving to the door of their rooms. She was already dressed in a yukuta and robe, ready for sleep.

Inside of the room Sesshomaru caught her in his arms, pulling her to rest against his chest. "The invasion has begun."

Groaning, Kagome buried her face in his chest. "Can we just run away? We can take the pups and take off before they even think to look for us."

The image was actually tempting. "No, koishii. We will deal with these problems, then we will be able to enjoy our home again."

"Oh, fine. If you insist. I was all set to pack my bags and everything."

"Miko, you are a bad influence."

"Hai." She snuggled closer, enjoying their respite.


	30. Bad Thoughts

A/N: I am glad that everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Rin and Merkamou? When have I ever run exactly as expected? What kind of fun would it be if Rin just fell for him? Sure, I'll run with it for a bit, but I will be keeping an eye on what people want, since there are other males around for her. Just speak up if you want a particular partnership! I own none of the originals. Thanks, EyeofDlareme, I'm glad to know that it's readable. I own none of the originals, just my own twisted little critters.

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Visions of a graceful fighter flying through the air were haunting Merkamou as he tried to sleep.

'No. That is not a beautiful female, that is Rin! The same one that has been writing you for the last ten years with all of her little stories about the palace and her lessons. The same one who has sent you dried flowers that she has found, thinking that you might like them.' A hiss of frustration escaped him as he rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling. 'My little merlin has grown into a fighter of great skill. Not surprising, considering that she was destroying youkai at such a young age, but still a shock to see. Her letters did not change nearly enough to let me know that she had grown. Ningens change so quickly. I noticed a change in her writing, the childish marks turning into a graceful calligraphy, but that is all.'

The moon was full that night, and showing its bright face in the window. Unwelcome thoughts drove the hawk youkai from his bed to look out over the grounds. 'When I met her she was a fledgling, as tall as my waist and giving me a fierce look. Not too frightening in a tiny ningen, but interesting. Now she sees me as an uncle of sorts, and has grown to an adult. She may see me as an uncle, but it is most difficult to not see her as fiery female.'

'Exactly what you were looking for.'

'Unacceptable. Not only is she a ningen, it's Rin! The same one that shared breakfast with me ten years ago after she had killed those youkai. A brave little thing, asking about my first battles. Sesshomaru's ward is off limits for so many reasons. It must be the shock. I was not expecting that fighter to be her. Once I get used to the change I will see her as my little merlin again. At least that much has not changed.'

Pacing back to his bed, Merkamou tried to force the idea of Rin onto the image of the fighter he had seen. 'Tomorrow. When I see her tomorrow and talk to her it will be obvious that it is the same person.'

----

"Katsuro, no! Not food!" Kagome pulled her pendant out of her son's mouth and tucked it inside of her clothes. Her son just waved his hands and giggled, looking for something else that could go in his mouth. She handed him a small rag that had been soaked in sugar water to suck on, making him settle back down.

"You son is beautiful, Kagome-sama." Merkamou smiled at the pup, admiring the emerald eyes and the jet black hair. The emerald eyes were locked on his face now, one hand reaching out for his hair while the other held onto his new toy.

"Arigato. Watch out, Merkamou-sama. Anything he gets his hands on goes straight into his mouth." Kagome caught her son's hand and let him grab onto her finger instead.

Chuckling, Merkamou pulled his hair back behind his shoulders. "You will be a feisty one, more like your mother I believe." His eyes moved to the father, sitting near by. "You have a wonderful litter forming here, Sesshomaru-sama."

"Hn."

Kagome gave her mate a glare. "What he means to say is arigato."

"Excuse me, Kagome-chan?"

"Hmm?" Kagome turned to find Rin behind her. "What's up, Rin-chan?"

"The Captain is looking for you."

"Oh, no. I forgot. Can't you tell him that I have Katsuro right now?" Kagome looked around. "And Mizuki is with me, too. I could not possibly have time today."

"I am not getting in the middle of this. It is bad enough that I have both Sango and the Captain to deal with, I'm not going to be a messenger between you two." Rin gave Kagome a bright smile, but she was not going to change her mind. "I am going to be out past the gardens with them. I have delivered my message, now it is up to you."

Kagome watched as Rin walked out of the room, glaring at her back. "She could have saved me."

"Am I to assume that this means she is out training? And that you are supposed to be joining her?"

A glare was directed at Merkamou now. "Hai. I have not been in practice while I was carrying Katsuro, so I am not looking forward to this. My body is going to be all stiff. Besides, I want to keep the pups with me as much as possible, and I cannot fight while holding this one."

"Kagome, you should not be absent from your lesson." Sesshomaru looked over at his mate, his blank expression hiding the reproving feeling that she could feel.

"Don't you start with me. I have responsibilities!"

"I could watch him, mother. If we bring some blankets so that he can sit on the ground I could watch him. I do enjoy going to Rin-sama's lessons, and this way you could go to your lesson as well." Mizuki was standing off to the side with her hands neatly folded in front of her.

A faint whisper came from Kagome, so soft that Merkamou and Sesshomaru could barely hear it. "They are all conspiring against me."

Fighting back a chuckle, Merkamou offered his arm to Kagome. "It seems that you are needed outside. I will escort you and the lovely Lady Mizuki to the gardens, then keep Mizuki-sama company while I observe your lesson."

Growling, Kagome eyeballed her mate. "And what are you going to be doing today?"

"We will be finishing our exercises today. When they are over I will find you."

Groaning, Kagome accepted Merkamou's arm. "I am outnumbered. Fine. Mizuki, grab some of those blankets from next to my desk for Katsuro, please."

----

Out past the gardens Kagome found Rin, Sango, and the Captain. Ah-Un and Kirara were off to the side, watching with amusement as their riders tried to flatten each other.

"Damn it all, Rin, what are you doing? Are you so tired of living that you want everyone to be able to kill you? Keep your guard up, or so help me I will come over there and nail you so hard that your future children will feel it!" The Captain was in excellent form, delighted to have his protégé back.

"Umm, I think I forgot something back at the palace, I'll be right back." Kagome made a break for freedom, but not before she was spotted.

"Hold it right there, miko. You need to practice."

'Caught.' Slowly Kagome turned to face her instructor.

"You are out of practice, so it is just archery for you today. Over there, a target and a bow for you."

A huge sigh of relief deflated Kagome, her eyes clearing. 'Archery. Thank you, Kami.'

Merkamou sat next to Mizuki, Katusuro between them on the blankets. Kagome's guard was behind him, watching for any threats against the pups. Merkamou's eyes were fixed on the two ningen females that were sparring in the center of the clearing. They were dressed in armor again, each armed with a single blade. They clashed again with surprising speed, looking for any hole that would end the fight. Rin twisted, knocking Sango's arm up by the elbow and making her sword arm temporarily useless. She slipped her blade free of her opponent's, coming underneath to lay the length across Sango's torso. "Kill."

"Hai." Sango sighed. "You are getting to know me too well, Rin-chan. You know what I am going to do before I do it. I think you need to spar with one of Kagome's guards for some variety."

The guards behind Merkamou stiffened, fear in their eyes. Nobody liked to get whipped by a ningen female, and with Sesshomaru's ward it was often a forgone conclusion.

Rin looked over to the guards, but spotted the taiyoukai sitting in the grass. "Perhaps not. Merkamou-sama, would you consider sparing with me?"

One red and gold eyebrow lifted, a small smile appearing. "Would Sango-sama consider taking my place with the lovely Lady Mizuki?" The silver haired pup blushed at being referred to as the lovely lady.

"Hai, if you do not harm my trainee." Sango gave him a fierce glare before sitting down with the pups.

"My word was given long ago that I would not harm the merlin. You do not need to be concerned."

Merkamou walked out onto the grass. Rin was watching with a bright smile as he eyeballed her. "What would you like for a weapon, Merkamou-sama?" Her fingers were brushing across the hilt of her second katana.

"Your choice, merlin. Are you intending to practice with live steel, as you did with your instructor?"

"If you are comfortable with it, my lord."

"Very well, then. You may fight with whatever you wish." Merkamou drew his own blade from its sheath. "Come for me, merlin."

The smile growing into a grin, Rin drew her second katana. She had been looking forward to this since she had heard that Merkamou was coming to visit. Her taiyoukai friend had been giving her tips and strategies in his letters over the years, and she fully intended to use all of them. The urge to prove herself was there. She had grown, and she would show Merkamou that she was not a little girl anymore. Besides, he was just fun to have around and spar with.

Kagome heard silence behind her and turned. In the center of the clearing were Merkamou and Rin, both armed and facing each other. Her breath caught, looking at the weapons in their hands. 'They're practicing with live steel. Is she nuts? You don't take on a taiyoukai like that!' Her eyes found her pups, watched over by Sango and her guards. Mizuki had her eyes locked on her big sister, a hint of fear in her expressionless face. Setting her bow aside she went to her pups, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "It's okay, Mizuki. He swore many years ago to not hurt her. Rin-chan will be fine."

"I was worried for Merkamou-sama."

'Well, I'm sure that Merkamou would be amused by that.' Kagome elbowed Sango so she would stop giggling. "Rin-chan is not going to hurt Merkamou-sama. He is a taiyoukai, just like your father, after all."

"If you are sure, Mama." Mizuki let kept her eyes focused her sister and the target.

Fighting back laughter of her own, Kagome focused on the pair that was warily circling each other. They had exchanged a few blows, mostly looking to see how the other had changed. Merkamou attacked with intent, closing the distance in half a heartbeat. Rin saw the small shift in balance before he moved and was ready, her right hand blade swinging up to stop his attack while her left hand blade slipped underneath to aim for his body.

Stepping out of the way of her answering attack, Merkamou narrowed his eyes. She was quick. Spinning to get behind her, Merkamou used his superior size to pull his blade up and away from her, freeing it and getting her into a very awkward position. Rin dropped to the ground, letting his next attack whistle through the empty air as she brought back an elbow and hit a nerve center in his thigh.

"Ow!" Merkamou moved back, his muscles protesting the hit he had just received. "Low blow, merlin!"

"Be glad that it was that low, my lord. A little bit higher and it would have been more effective, if more dishonorable." Giggling, Rin was back on her feet and facing him. Her two blades were on guard again, easing closer to her opponent. She attacked on her own, her two blades acting as two separate entities in an attempt to confuse him.

The right hand blade was blocked easily enough, but it took a good bit of strength to force that blade over so that he could stop the second attack. Both blades blocked, he shoved hard, sending Rin back and off balance. He closed, expecting to be able to finish it, but she had one of her blades in the way, blocking his attack even as the force of it sent a shock through her whole body. That damn second blade was moving again, forcing him back onto the defensive. That was the true strength of her weapons; it made him divide his attention between the two weapons and left him vulnerable to anything that she could sneak in while his attention was on the wrong blade.

He managed to catch one hand in his own, stopping her right handed blade while attacking the left handed one. She struggled in his grip, blocking with her free weapon now that he had the advantage again. Unexpectedly she threw herself forward, tangling his legs with her own and tripping him up. Both hands occupied and off balance, Merkamou fell backwards, taking the ningen with him. To Rin's surprise he did not let go of her hand to save himself, but pulled her down hard. Landing on top of the taiyoukai she used her leverage to push down on her blade, trying to force a yield. His own blade was resting near his throat, being pushed down by her blade.

Rin found herself on her back, pinned by the taiyoukai and her own blade at her throat, pressed down by his in a mirror image of her previous position. Growling a bit, she looked for a way out of this mess. He had the leverage and strength now, and her second weapon was pinned to the ground by his free hand.

"Do you yield, merlin?"

'Damn, no way out of this one.' Her own blade was just barely touching her skin, leaving a faint red line. "Hai, my lord."

Merkamou relaxed his arms, letting Rin move her blade away from her own throat. "You were most impressive, merlin. Your skill with the two katanas is considerable."

"Arigato, my lord. Would you consider getting off of me?"

Realizing the rather awkward position he was in, Merkamou jumped to his feet and tried to not look flustered. 'It is Rin, it is just Rin. A muscular, strong, attractive . . . Stop that!' He offered a hand to help his sparing partner up. She took it gracefully, pulling herself to her feet and brushing the dirt from her armor.

"Well, it has been awhile since I found myself pinned on my back like that. Shall we try it again, my lord?" Head tipped to the side, Rin waited for her friend to come and play again.

'Does she have any idea what that sounded like? Evidently not.' Merkamou faced off with her again. "Of course, merlin. Perhaps you will refrain from any questionable blows, this time."

"And give up my one advantage? Not likely, my lord."

----

"Oh, Kami, I hurt all over."

Rin sank deeper into the hot water, her hair piled up on the top of her hair. Her companions just rolled their eyes, not feeling terribly sympathetic.

"Next time you won't spar with Merkamou for two hours straight, baka. You would probably still be out there if we hadn't dragged you back to the palace." Kagome did not even open her eyes, just laid her head back on the edge of the pool and sighed. "You have no one to blame but yourself."

"He did not need to drop me quite that hard, or from that high. My back is killing me!" Rubbing her bruised body, Rin glared at her friends. 'Some sympathy would still be nice.'

"If you are going to giggle at a taiyoukai after knocking him down, you are going to end up flat out on the ground, silly." This time it was Sango offering a bit of wisdom.

"I thought you were wonderful, Rin-chan." Mizuki's silver hair stood out in the group of black haired females. Her ears twitched a bit with excitement. "It was amazing, I have never seen fighting like that. Not even when you fight with Aunt Sango or the Captain!"

"That's because Rin holds back against us, don't you, Rin-chan?" Sango fixed her student with a bit of a glare.

The object of their attention squirmed in the hot water. "Just a little. I worry that I am going to hurt one of you."

"But you don't worry about Merkamou?"

"No, he is a taiyoukai, he can take care of himself. Even if I slipped and got through his guard it would not hurt him for more than a day or two."

"So you were going all out against him." Kagome pulled Mizuki over so she could pile her hair up on top of her head and pin it there.

"Hai. Kind of embarrassing to give it everything I have got and not win a single match." The young woman glared at the water. It had been fun to lose herself in a fight like that, but it was frustrating to never win.

"Don't beat up on yourself too much. That is like taking on Sesshomaru. You are still a ningen, and you should be proud that you did manage to knock him down a couple of times. I know he was impressed, to say nothing about entertained."

"Merkamou is not like father! Nobody is as strong as father." Glaring at her mother over her shoulder, Mizuki crossed her arms.

Kagome rolled her eyes behind her daughter. "Easy, sugar. I wasn't saying that he is as strong as your father, just saying that he is a taiyoukai, like your father. Rin-chan should be proud that she was able to face him at all, and I know he was not holding much back."

"Mama, don't call me that."

Sticking her tongue out at her daughter, Kagome turned her attention back to Sango. "What do you think, Sango-chan? You've never seen him in action before."

"While I agree with Mizuki that Sesshomaru would win, I think that Merkamou would give your mate a serious run for his money. They are so different, it's hard to compare them. It's a wonder that Sesshomaru can stand him."

"It is a battle at times to keep him from just attacking Merkamou." Kagome finished Mizuki's hair and let her go back to her spot.

"It would be interesting, to see what would happen if those two ever fought." Rin did not even seem fully aware of her companions as she thought. "He does have some strong attacks, maybe it would not be a foregone conclusion on who would win."

"Rin-chan? Did you just suggest that somebody might be able to beat your Sesshomaru-sama? Have you been in the hot water for too long?" A shocked stare was coming from Kagome and Sango. Mizuki looked scandalized.

Blushing, Rin looked back down at the water. "It was just a thought."

"Really." Kagome was giving the girl an appraising look, but decided to let it drop.

"My ladies?" Kumo stuck her head in the door. "You will miss your meal if you do not come out of the water now."

"Hai, Kumo. Arigato."

The group of ladies climbed out of the water, finding towels and robes so that they could return to their rooms and dress. Rin was still moving slowly, her body insisting that she take it easy. Mizuki stood on her tip toes to help Rin get her robe on over sore shoulders. Once in the halls the ladies scattered to their separate rooms. Of course the aching young woman was the last to find her room. Down the hall she could see Merkamou emerging from the room he had been given for his stay, wearing a robe and carrying a towel of his own. His upgrade to family friend had provided him with a guest room in the same wing as the family.

The taiyoukai had seen her as well, catching the movement of her robe as he entered the hall. "I was starting to believe that all of the palace's ladies had drowned."

Sticking her tongue out at him, Rin carefully slid her own door open. "Settle your feathers, my lord. The baths are now empty and you can enjoy them at your leisure."

"It is for the best that the ladies have now vacated it. I was contemplating ways to convince the group to move on so that others could bathe."

"If you would have gone through with any of these plans, my lord, I am certain that you would have been severely injured. Entering the baths while Kagome-chan is soaking would have been very foolish."

"To say nothing about the questionable blows you would have landed on my person."

Rin crossed her eyes at him and moved into her room, hiding her aching movements as much as possible. The argument was going nowhere, and she still needed to dress. It was very odd to argue with Merkamou in the hall, dressed in a robe with her hair in a damp, messy pile on the top of her head. It felt almost awkward, knowing that she was not wearing nearly enough clothing to be talking to a male, but it was Merkamou! He didn't count.

The memory of his body crushing hers to the ground came rushing back. Gold eyes locked on hers, a smile on his face. Not the dark amber of Sesshomaru's, but a bright gold. She had spent a considerable amount of time on the ground, usually with him over top of her or underneath her. Not at all like the games they had played when she was just a pup. He had not had a lot of luck disarming her or getting both of her blades tied up, so he had resorted to simply pinning her to force a yield in most of the matches.

Not that she minded.

Gasping in her room, Rin slapped a hand to her cheek. 'What? That's Merkamou! He's like an uncle to me! Sure, I haven't seen him in ten years, but still. I think I hit my head too hard.'

Shaking her head she pulled out her clothing for dinner, choosing to wear a kimono instead of her usual haori and hakama. They did have company, after all. She chose a lovely cream colored piece with dark blue flowers and metallic fish. A dark blue obi went with it, and Rin knew she was stuck. She went back out into the hall to find Kumo. Just this once, she would have someone help her to dress. Maybe Kagome's assistant could even be convinced to help her with her hair. Sure, Kumo did not really hold the position of maid anymore, but Rin was too shy to track down someone else. And knowing Kumo, she would be delighted to have a willing female to dress. It did not happen often in this palace.

'Just this once I'll look the part of Sesshomaru-sama's ward and surprise that hawk.'


	31. The Deal

A/N: Aw, I'm being predictable, am I? You know that won't last. grin I have had four votes for Merkamou so far. I'll bring out his competition here soon, but not just yet. Enjoy. I don't own any of the really cool ones.

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"Rin-neechan? Rin-neechan, do you still have those silver hair combs? Can I borrow them? What are you doing?"

Mizuki came to a dead stop, staring at her big sister.

"Mizuki! Don't you know how to knock?" Rin darted forward and pulled her sister into her room, shutting the door behind her.

"Sorry, Rin-neechan, but what are you doing? Kumo-sama? What's going on?"

"What does it look like, silly? I am getting dressed, and Kumo is helping me." A quick glare, then Rin went back to where Kumo was waiting to finish tying some of her clothes. The layers of silk were quickly rearranged and the obi was secured around her waist.

"Gee, Rin-neechan, I could not figure that out." Letting her usual façade slip with her big sister, Mizuki stuck her tongue out. "What I meant was why are you wearing that? I can not even remember the last time you wore a kimono like that."

"We have company." Rin tried to ignore the heat on her face, knowing that she was blushing. Kumo plunked her down on a cushion so she could work on the teenager's hair. "The silver combs are in the box with the rest of them, help yourself."

"I wish I could dress like that for company." Looking down at her simple clothing, Mizuki sighed. She was still considered too young to wear the elaborate clothing that Rin was wearing. Rummaging through the box of combs she pulled out the matched pair of silver ones that she loved.

Mischief was dancing in Rin's eyes. "Stand up straight for a second, Mizuiki-chan. How tall are you these days?" Rin glanced back to Kumo. "Do you think it would fit her?"

"I am not sure, Rin-sama. It might be a bit big on her, but it will be close. Kagome-sama will not approve, though. Mizuki-sama is only eight years old, and too young for such elaborate clothing." Kumo put some gold combs in her mouth, twisting Rin's hair up and pinning it into place.

"I am not too young."

"Kumo, I was just two years older than her when I wore it." Rin winced a little when her hair was pulled into place.

"But you are a ningen." Kumo pulled the combs out of her mouth so that she could speak clearly. "Mizuki-sama may look like you did when you were ten, but for a youkai she is considered to be little more than a toddler. Pups grow quickly until they are able to move about and care for themselves, then the aging slows down dramatically. Mizuki-sama will not seem any different ten years from now. It will be another twenty years before she is considered old enough to be an adolescent."

Mizuki groaned. "Hey, I am standing right here, you know! And I do not want to wait another ten or twenty years to wear the same kind of clothes as Rin."

"Oh, come on Kumo. There are no rules saying that she cannot where my clothes. I have seen younger youkai then her dressed in full formal attire in court."

"I am just explaining what her mother wishes." Defeat was just around the bend, and Kumo knew it. "Let us see if the clothing even fits. The whole discussion may be pointless."

Kumo went into Rin's closet, looking in the very back to find a carefully stored pile of silk. Pulling the pile to her chest, she turned to find the silver haired pup practically climbing on top of her to see what she had found. Shaking out the layers, the dark blue kimono was revealed, with silver fish running from the shoulder down to the hem. Draped over her arm were more layers of silk and a light blue obi. Dancing about with excitement Mizuki's sapphire eyes were shining. 'Oh, please let it fit!'

Holding the kimono against the girl, Kumo nodded. "Hai, it will fit her. You do realize that Kagome-sama is going to be very annoyed, correct?"

"I will take the blame, Kumo. It will be worth it to make Mizuki-chan that happy. She has been wanting to dress like this since the first time she saw me getting ready for a formal dinner." Smiling, Rin ran a hand through her little sister's hair. "I am the big sister, and it is my job to spoil her rotten."

"Go and talk to Kagome-sama so that you do not have to face her with company. Believe me, it will be better this way. I will help Mizuki-sama to change. Come, young one, and we will get you dressed. And we will need to do your hair, ne?"

"Arigato, arigato, arigato Kumo-sama and Rin-neechan!" Sprinting down the hall like any pup her age Mizuki zipped into her room well ahead of Kumo.

Bracing herself, Rin went to see Kagome. Tapping politely at the door, she waited till she heard a voice.

"Hai?"

"Kagome-chan, it is Rin."

She could hear voices talking to each other, meaning that Kagome was not alone. The door slid open and Kagome was smiling at her, her hair a bit rumpled and still wearing her robe. "What's up, Rin-chan?"

'Oh, this is awkward. I'm surprised that Sesshomaru-sama has not just told me to come back later.' Looking at the ground to keep from blushing, Rin fidgeted with her obi. "I was dressing, and Mizuki-chan came in, and she wanted to know why I was dressed this way, and then she was asking about what she could wear, and then . . . "

"Rin." Sesshomaru was looking towards her with that slightly annoyed and amused expression he would get when she was rambling.

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama. Kagome-chan, can Mizuki-chan borrow one of my old kimonos?"

"Nani? She has clothes of her own, you know." Puzzlement was wrinkling Kagome's brow.

"Hai, but she wants to borrow my blue one that I wore when I went to court with you the first time. Remember, I was supposed to keep you company."

"Oh, that one. She is awfully young, Rin-chan." Watching Rin's face melt in disappointment made Kagome soften. "Oh, fine. She can wear it. I'll never hear the end of it if I tell her no. I suppose this means that I will need to dress nicely, too. What is bringing all of this on? It's just dinner you know."

"I wanted to make a good impression, and show how much I've changed since Merkamou-sama saw me last time."

"Hn." The years with Sesshomaru had added some new expressions to Kagome's vocabulary, and that was one that she used rather frequently.

"I am going to go check on Mizuki-chan and let you finish changing." Giving a quick bow Rin escaped before more questions could be sent her way. Trotting down the hall she tapped on Mizuki's door before slipping in. "It's all clear, Mizuki-chan. Mama said its okay."

"Oh, wonderful. I did not want to cause a problem tonight." Kumo looked up with a smile from helping Mizuki with the various layers.

For her part Mizuki was silent, reveling in the chance to play dress up.

"I will be right back, I am going to warn Sango that everybody is dressing up for dinner. She will be mad if she is the only one that does not know."

The door slid shut behind Rin, leaving the pup and the assistant alone. "Well, Mizuki-sama, what shall we do with your hair?"

"I do have those combs from Rin-neechan, but other then that I do not know."

"Here, pup, I will take care of it." Skilled hands moved through the silver hair, pulling it away from the young face. "Your parents will be very surprised, I believe."

"I hope so, Kumo-sama."

'He may be a cold bastard, but he does sire lovely pups.' Merkamou watched as Sesshomaru's little daughter bowed carefully to him and moved to her place next to her mother. The dark blue of her kimono set off her eyes to a lovely effect, and her silver hair was pulled back with combs just behind her fluffy ears. 'She will be a heartbreaker when she is older, hanyou or no.'

The two exterminators were next to each other, almost unrecognizable when dressed as fine ladies. Especially Rin. What had happened to the impulsive child? Now she looked the part of a noble lady, the ward of a great lord. Why was she not mated and in a home of her own? She looked to be old enough, and with her position and appearance it was hard to imagine that no ningen family would want her. He would ask Sesshomaru about this later.

Dinner was a quiet affair, with small talk interspersed throughout the dishes. Mizuki and Kagome were the first to retire from the meal, quickly followed by Sesshomaru.

Smiling, Sango bowed herself out. "You youngsters can stay up as late as you wish, but I have had a long day and am calling it a night."

Merkamou looked over to the lady left at the table. She was still picking at her plate, concentrating on not making a mess. A single lock of hair had escaped and was trailing over her face, making her growl at it. 'Ah, this is more like the merlin I know.' Fighting back a chuckle, Merkamou caught the exterminator's attention. "Have you any stories for me, merlin?"

"Nani, my lord?"

"I am certain that you have stories about your great battles that you could share."

"Oh, umm, I do not really have any great battles to share. I am not a great warrior like you, Merkamou-sama." She fought down the urge to fidget with her clothes.

"I beg to differ, merlin. I did see you take down that bear youkai yesterday, and seeing you in action today has led me to believe that you are a very capable fighter. Do not be modest, I would truly like to hear your stories."

"Well, I did have an interesting time with this snake youkai that was trying to attack Mizouki a couple of years back. You would think that the youkai in this area would learn, but they never do. It attacked the guards, killed one and knocked the other one back. It tried to go for Mizouki, ignoring me. I am always armed, ever since that attack in the gardens when you were here last. So I drew my sword and managed to get a hit on him to get him away from Mizouki. He was fast! I kept backing up, drawing him away from Mizouki and trying to get him to be overly confident. Does not take much when you are just a ningen." A bitter look crossed the young face. "He just kept lunging at me, exactly the same way over and over again. So I spun to the side and let him lunge right past me, then ran him through and lopped his head off. Of course he was poisonous, and his blood was getting on everything. I still have the scar on my arm from where it burnt through my sleeve. Mizouki zipped off faster then I could see to get help and the healer was able to save my arm."

"Unbelievable that they still do not respect you. How many youkai will you need to slaughter before word gets out that the oldest of Sesshomaru's pups is far more dangerous than the guards?"

"It is kind of convenient, actually. There has not been an attack in the palace since that one, so maybe word has gotten out. Most of my experience has been out with Sango training. We did run into this weasel youkai. That was a tricky beast. I thought the kitsune were bad with their tricks, but he rivaled them. Trying to work out which was the illusion and which was the youkai almost got me killed, but in the end I noticed that the original could not stop mumbling to himself, while his illusions were silent. I do think that weasel was insane, my lord."

"Quite possible. I ran into a weasel not too long ago, and it was quite certainly insane. It was insisting that I was its mate, and hunted me for days, wailing. I did end up destroying it when it attacked me for being unfaithful. I do hope it was a female."

Very unladylike snorts were coming from Rin. "I should hope so, my lord. Here you are complaining about not being able to find a mate, and this youkai was throwing itself at you."

"And you are going to lecture me? I do not see any males here looking for your hand. Is it possible that you are the one that is not accepting suitors? Or have you frightened them away?"

"You have been talking to Kagome-chan, Merkamou-sama." Rin crossed her arms and glared. "If they are frightened away after one sparing match then I do not think they are acceptable."

"Sparing? You have been sparing with your suitors? Kami, merlin, I do not know of any ningen male that could stand up to that." Merkamou still had a smile on, very amused at the image of his merlin pounding on some uppity member of the ningen royalty.

"Not you, too. I would think that you would support me in this. I do not want a male that is embarrassed by me, or that is helpless. I am starting to think that I will remain single and live here the rest of my days. It does have some appeal, since I do not want to ever leave Kagome-chan and Sesshomaru-sama, but it sounds rather lonely."

"Self pity does not suit you, merlin."

Angry eyes snapped to the youkai's face. "Excuse me, my lord?"

"I would think that a fighter of your caliber would not indulge in bouts of self pity. If you are unhappy with a situation, then you should do something about it."

"And you are lecturing me, why? You are not mated either, despite your protests that you wish to be, my lord."

A soft hiss escaped the youkai. "It is more difficult when there is a political consideration. I cannot just choose an appealing female, there are alliances to consider."

"That sounds like an evasion, my lord. You could admit that it is not a matter of just choosing someone for either of us. I discussed this with Kagome-chan, and I have been told that I am not to just pick a male and whack him over the head."

"Whack him?" A blank stare was quickly replaced by laughter. "Oh, Kami, merlin. I feel sympathy for your future mate. He will have his hands full, to be certain."

"And the same to you, my lord." Rin took a sip of her tea. "I will make a deal with you. You will keep an eye out for acceptable ningen males, and I will look for acceptable youkai females. I am certain that Kagome-chan will assist me in my hunt, since you have stricter requirements."

"That is a deal, merlin."

"All right, ladies, settle down. We all know why we are here."

"We know that you are making us be here, but we're not sure on why exactly we are here. Can't this wait until morning?"

Kagome gave Sango a glare. "We are going to brainstorm for females that we can introduce to Merkamou. And we have Hideaki and his son coming. From what I understand his son is unmated and with no commitments. We do have some nice females here, and some of them have very impressive bloodlines."

"And explain to me why I'm here?" Sango gave her friend a long suffering look.

"Because the rest of us had to suffer, so you do, too," Rin giggled.

"I am not suffering." Mizuki was excited to be with the adults.

"Suck up. You are just happy to be up past your bed time." Rin stuck her tongue out at her little sister.

"Kagome-sama, I do have some suggestions from the court, but there is also the unmated daughter of Hideaki-sama. We should consider that possibility for Merkamou-sama." Kumo had a list in front of her with notes scribbled next to the names.

"Hmm, I wonder if they have met each other." Kagome made a note on her own paper. "I could always ask if Lady Akira had a daughter that was of age."

"Are you nuts? Merkamou is not going to mate a daughter of that bastard!"

"Watch your language, Rin-chan." Kagome glanced at Mizuki who was soaking up everything Rin said like a sponge.

"It's okay, Mama. I have heard you call father that one."

Kagome stared at the table as her friends burst out laughing.

"Perhaps, Rin-sama, you know some of these females." Kumo handed her list over to Rin, watching as the young woman scanned down the list.

"Well, I can tell you who will not work. The Ladies Natsumi, Aiko, and Shizuka will never work out, they are all much too boring. We need a female that will keep him entertained long enough to make it through a courtship." Rin slid the list over to Kagome. "We may have a shot with Ladies Sora and Yoshiko. They are both very well educated, and I know that Lady Sora is a wonderful story teller."

"And as vain as the day is long." Sango rolled her eyes. "I know that name, at least. I can not remember ever seeing her without a mirror nearby."

"It is still worth a try. You never know, Merkamou may find that to be entertaining as well. Besides, she is a cousin to Sesshomaru on his mother's side and it would be a good match." Kagome drew a little star next to Sora's name. "Lady Yoshiko is not as royal, but has a very pleasant personality."

"She is scared of spiders," Mizuki offered. "And of heights and small rooms."

"That is a little less then promising." Kumo leaned over to put a dash next to her name. "Not to be ruled out completely, but not as likely."

"There is not a fighter in the lot. I believe Merkamou will be disappointed." Rin smiled a bit to herself.

Kagome bit back a groan. "If he is looking for a blue blooded youkai female that can fight, he is going to have a very difficult search. Most of these ladies have learned enough to know which end of a sword to grab onto, but they do not take it seriously. They see it as an opportunity to show off to prospective mates. Lady Tamiko is rumored to be a great fighter . . ."

"But she has as much personality as her blade. That is a lost cause." Rin dropped her head to her hands. "This is far too much trouble. How do any of these youkai lords find a mate? Honestly?"

"Most are not as picky as Merkamou-sama." Kumo looked over the list again. "Many of the lords will accept whichever female provides the strongest alliance or the best title. Merkamou-sama is unique for insisting on a female that is entertaining as well."

"Perhaps we should advise him to look to the alliance or title, and be flexible on the rest of his requirements." Sango tipped her head over and looked to Kagome. "It does not need to be a match of love, at least not in the beginning. As long as they believe they can tolerate each other."

"Oh, but I don't want Merkamou to be miserable. I want him to fall in love!"

Kagome's outburst made several pairs of eyes roll. Kumo was the first to speak up. "He is a taiyoukai, Kagome-sama. It is more important that he have an appropriate mate and produce an heir then he fall in love."

"Can't he fall in love and have both?"

"Focus, Kagome-chan." Sango poked her friend in the arm. "All you can do is introduce him to acceptable females that are possibilities."

"Why acceptable? I wasn't acceptable, and it worked out just fine." Glancing around the table, Kagome looked for support. "Let's not limit our choices too much."

"Unless you are planning on finding another powerful miko, we are going to need to stay with the noble youkai females to keep Merkamou-sama's position secure." Kumo was looking her list over again. "I would also like to try Lady Naomi."

"You guys are no fun." Kagome pouted as the list of names was discussed by her friends.

Sesshomaru continued down the hall, fighting down laughter at the antics of his mate. Of course Kagome would want Merkamou to fall in love. She was an optimist till the end, and had even managed to make her own cold mate fall in love. It would be very interesting to watch as she introduced Merkamou to the various females at court. He would not be surprised if old Hideaki's daughter was summoned for a visit. Merkamou did not know what he had started, and Sesshomaru had very little pity for his ally.


	32. A Quiet Morning

A/N: I will be traveling for the next week, so some of the updates will be late. I'm bringing the laptop and I'm planning on getting some extra writing done while I'm bored with the family. Just for the record, still hate this chapter. But, it needed to be done. I promise to start twisting the plot next chapter. Things will accelerate rapidly. I don't own any of the originals.

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"So, what do you think?"

Evidently she is not ready to sleep yet, so therefore, I am not.' Sesshomaru glanced at his mate from the corner of his eye. "Think of what?"

"What do you think of asking Hideaki if his daughter can come to visit and meet Merkamou? The daughter of the Lord of the North would be a great match for the Lord of the South. Then the three of you could stand against that bastard out east." Kagome's eyes were shining in the dark room, her dark hair fanned out on her pillow.

"I believe that Hideaki would consider the offer. Merkamou would do well to discuss the idea with the lord, though. The daughter would have little to do with the arrangements, unless Merkamou wished to see if she were healthy."

"No, no, no. They have to meet to see if they like each other! Come on, if it were Mizuki you know that you would want her to be happy." A sharp poke was directed at Sesshomaru's shoulder to emphasize her point.

"Mizuki would be allowed to meet the male, of course, to see if they were a complete mismatch, but the arrangements would still be between the fathers." Sesshomaru rolled over so that he could watch the unpredictable miko. She was not above burning him when she did not have a pup.

"Well, we should bring the idea up. And we should ask about his son while we are at it. As long as we are bringing out the nicest females in the court we might as well introduce them to two bachelors."

A silence stretched out, and Kagome knew that Sesshomaru was pondering something. Unable to wait she pestered him. "Do you have an idea for Hideaki's son? I was focusing on Merkamou and didn't think too much on him."

"Mizuki would be a possibility. You were discussing ways to strengthen alliances between the three lords, and she is my daughter. Even if she is a hanyou the offer might be considered."

"Umm, Jo-chan? Mizuki is eight!" Launching herself up, Kagome glared down at the gold eyes next to her. "Unacceptable!"

"I am not saying that they would be mated now. Baka."

That earned the great taiyoukai a smack with a pillow.

"I am saying that she could be betrothed to him." Sesshomaru disarmed his mate and tucked the pillow behind his head.

"Ick! He is too old for her!"

"He is not much more than 100 years old. Mizuki will be grown faster than a full youkai, no older than 70 or so. It is not so long to wait, and it would give the male a chance to establish himself."

A sad sound, almost a wail, escaped Kagome. "We said that we weren't going to talk about this stuff."

"Nani?"

"We are not supposed to talk about how I'm not going to be here. My little girl won't be grown until I'm long dead. I won't get to meet her future mate, or see the next generation. What do I have left? 30, maybe 40 years? Damn it all to hell, it's not enough! I want to see my pups grow up! And what of the next pup I have? They won't even make it to adolescence before they have to bury their mother." Hysteria was dragging Kagome down, her breathing becoming ragged.

Sesshomaru sat up quickly, seeing where this was going. Kagome launched herself out of bed, waving her arms in frustration. "It's not fair! I finally have what I want, but I know that my pups will grow up without me. For hundreds of years I'll be nothing but a memory! Will they even remember me? Will they tell their pups about me, or will I just be forgotten?" Kagome dropped to the ground, slamming her fist into the floor.

The scent of blood made Sesshomaru's body tense. He jumped from the bed and pulled the miko from the floor, holding her tightly so she could not do herself anymore harm. Carrying her back to bed he mumbled in her ear, trying to soothe her. She stopped struggling and collapsed against his shoulder, tears soaking his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Sesshomaru. I shouldn't have lost it like that. I get so frustrated. I knew that this was going to happen, but it is hard when I can't just push it into the back of my mind."

"I know, koishii."

For an instant, Kagome felt raw pain, and it was not from her. The stoic face above her revealed nothing, but for that one instant she knew. He had already looked to the future, and saw himself alone for many centuries to come. She trailed a hand up to his face, tracing a finger over a maroon stripe.

"How will you . . . what will you do? I'm sorry, forget I asked. I know that I'm not supposed to ask." Kagome buried her face in his shoulder, trying to stop her tears.

"I will live. I will care for our pups, and see that Katsuro rules these lands when I am done. I will think of you."

"Do you . . . regret . . ."

"Never."

Shivering at the intensity of his words, Kagome pulled his face to hers, pressing her lips to his. The kiss intensified, the two trying to bury their frustration and sorrow in a moment of passion. They may not be together forever, but at least for tonight they could be as one. For Sesshomaru there would be the memories of nights such as this. The memories to keep him warm for the centuries to come.

"Kagome-chan?"

You think she would grow out of this one day.' Kagome pulled the pillow off of her head, refusing to recognize the sun light pouring into the room. Part of her mind was startled to find Sesshomaru still next to her, holding her tightly. "Yo, Rin-chan."

"A scout has spotted Hideaki-sama. He should be here this evening."

Yawning, Kagome tried to stretch but found it impossible with the strong grip around her. "Arigato, Rin-chan. Make sure Kumo knows and I'll be down as soon as I can."

"Hai, Kagome-chan." Footsteps faded down the hall way.

I will deal with this later.' Curling up in the warm embrace, Kagome tried to not worry about the problems outside of her door. Next to the bed Katsuro dreamed on, letting his parents sleep in for once. He was getting better, letting them sleep for most of the night. His parents were very grateful. Turning in the embrace, Kagome faced the beautiful face of Sesshomaru.

"Morning."

One gold eye cracked open, giving her a bit of a glare. "Sleep."

"Rin has already been by, and it seems that we will have two more guests for dinner."

"Then this Sesshomaru does not have to worry about it until noon at the earliest." The eye slid back shut, refusing to deal with the problems of the day just yet.

"Who's the bad influence, youkai?" Smiling, Kagome settled back down to doze the morning away. These peaceful mornings were very rare, and she was going to savor this one.

"Forget it, Mizuki. I've already tried. It seems they have decided to stay in bed all day." Rin steered her little sister away from Kagome and Sesshomaru's door.

"But we have company coming." Mizuki glanced back at the door. "Shouldn't Mama be up?"

"I think that we can take care of it. What do you think?"

"Hai, Rin-chan. We should get Kumo-sama and let her know, too."

"Exactly. Kagome-chan will be very surprised when she wakes up and finds out that everything is taken care of." Ruffling the silver hair, Rin walked with her sister to Kagome's study. Kumo would probably be there, sitting at her own desk and dealing with whatever mix ups had occurred over the night.

As though the image were plucked from her mind, Rin found Kumo writing a note at her desk. Kagome had taught her former maid how to read and write more than a basic list, and now Kumo was an extension of Kagome and helped to keep things running smoothly. The former servant now had assistants of her own that took care of the ladies in her charge, even though she insisted on caring for Kagome herself.

"Good morning, Kumo-sama." Bowing politely, Mizuki let herself into the room.

"Good morning, Mizuki-sama, Rin-sama." Kumo set her note aside. "Have either of you seen Kagome-sama?"

Trying not to giggle, Rin spoke up. "Hai. She is still in bed, and showing no signs of getting up."

Raising an eyebrow, Kumo looked Rin up and down. "And you are letting her?"

"I am not going in there with Sesshomaru-sama! There would not be enough pieces left for the Tenseiga to bring me back."

"True." Kumo pulled another note to the front.

"Kumo-sama?"

"Hai, Mizuki-sama?"

"Rin-chan and I would like to help you with anything you need so mother does not need to worry about it when she wakes up." Eyes on the floor and hands neatly folded, Mizuki looked like a meek, obedient child. Rin felt the usual urge to poke her sister when she started this behavior.

"That would be much appreciated. I am certain that you will be of great help." Pulling herself to her feet, Kumo led the two young ladies out the door. And as long as she thinks she is helping me I can keep an eye on her. It has been a while since I carried a dagger in my obi, but with this family I doubt this will be the last time.' "Rin-sama, you should go to breakfast and keep an eye on the guests we have while Mizuki-sama and I take care of arrangements"

"Are you sure?" Rin met Kumo's eyes, sending a clear message.

"Hai, Rin-sama. Mizuki-sama will be fine with me." Taking the pup by the shoulder, Kumo steered her out the door. "The first stop for us will be the guest rooms to make sure that they are ready."

Two guards fell into step behind Kumo and the pup, keeping an eye on Sesshomaru's daughter.

Sighing, Rin turned towards the dining hall. Damn, how did I end up on Merkamou sitting duty again?' She ran a hand over her hair, feeling it slipping from the tail she had tied it into. The hand continued down her clothing, the haori and hakama that were almost a uniform for her feeling rough under her hands. Her hand rested on the twin hilts at her side. She was going to take Ah-Un out after breakfast, so she had dressed for it in clothes that were sturdy and comfortable.

Why do I care?' Despite her protests Rin's feet stomped back to her room, untying her hair and running a brush through it. Her fingers struggled to braid her unruly hair, binding it down into some semblance of control. One lock refused to stay where it belonged, falling to her eyes. Growling, she grabbed one of the combs from her box to pin it out of her eyes. Her reflection in the mirror caught her attention, bringing her focus to the young face looking back at her. She turned her head from side to side, examining the appearance.

Plain brown eyes, unruly hair, too big of a smile. If it was not for Sesshomaru-sama no family would offer for me.' Snapping her head away from the mirror she slipped quietly to the dining hall.

Merkamou could see her sour mood from the second she walked into the room. The usual bright smile was missing, replaced by down turned eyes and quiet steps. She slipped into her seat with a mumbled greeting.

"You just missed your instructor, merlin. I am glad that I saw her, since I was again concerned for the safety of the palace ladies."

"We have been busy, my lord. It seems that Hideaki-sama will be arriving this evening with his son." Rin kept her eyes on her breakfast, not even glancing at the taiyoukai.

"And what will you be doing today? Will you be helping the other ladies to prepare for your guest?" His eye took in her dress and made an educated guess that she would not be staying indoors.

"No, my lord. I need to take Ah-Un out for some work before I can help in the palace." It was a small lie, but Rin just could not stand the idea of staying inside and doing the quiet little tasks that would be required of her.

"Would you like some company? I would enjoy some time outside and I have not had many opportunities to see this area."

Trying not to choke on her breakfast, Rin glanced up at Merkamou. "Uh, sure, if you want. I am not going to be doing anything interesting, my lord, just flying around, and maybe doing some hunting so the kitchens have something good to cook for tonight, you know we have guests and everything so . . . "

"Merlin. I would be delighted to go flying around with you."

Blushing scarlet, Rin proceeded to focus on her breakfast. So much for peace and quiet this morning.'

After they had finished eating Rin led Merkamou through the palace so that they could retrieve Ah-Un from the stables. Passing through a corridor they found Kumo walking quickly, talking over her shoulder to Mizuki who was jotting down notes as she trotted along. Trailing behind the two females were two guards. None of them spared a glance for the other occupants in the hall but continued to walk. "The rooms have been aired out, but the beds need to be turned and fresh flowers need to be brought in. We will also need to assign an extra servant to the wing for the remainder of their stay . . ." The voices disappeared around a corner.

"Merlin, did I just see Sesshomaru-sama's eldest playing scribe to Kagome-sama's assistant?"

"Please, my lord, do not ask. It keeps her out of trouble." Rin shook her head as she looked down the corridor where her sister had disappeared.

The rest of the walk to the stables was silent. Ah-Un saw his ningen and let out a loud rumble of greeting, rubbing both heads against her. The tack was settled into place quickly, and Rin led her beloved mount out onto the grass. Swinging two bows and two quivers of arrows behind the saddle, she glanced over her shoulder. "Are you going to be able to keep up, my lord?"

Smiling at her challenge, Merkamou disappeared to be replaced by a streak of flame that darted about. "After you, merlin."

Ah-Un leapt as Rin swung on, not even waiting for his rider to find the saddle before taking to the air. Laughing at the dragon's enthusiasm, Rin leaned low over the twin necks. Whipping through the clouds she let out a loud yell, dropping the reins to stretch her hands out and revel in the moment of freedom. A streak of flame kept pace with her, hissing and snapping in shared excitement as they soared.

Unable to help herself, Rin pointed at Merkamou. "You're it, Merkamou-sama!" Scooping up the reins she turned the dragon into a dive, leaving the baffled bit of flame behind in the clouds.

Not baffled for long, Merkamou was soon chasing the dragon through the treetops. Ah-Un was surprisingly quick for a bulky creature. He dived between branches before climbing back up to the clouds, hoping to lose his pursuer in the mist. It would have been easier if his rider would just stop giggling! Whipping around, the twin heads looked about for the flame that they had lost track of.

There was a hiss just behind Rin's shoulder. "Boo."

"Eep!" The dragon spooked and took off with the equally startled rider. Racing through the clouds, Rin tried to make her lungs work again as she convinced the dragon to stop racing off. Laughter was echoing across the sky as she got Ah-Un turned around to face Merkamou.

"Not funny, my lord!" Wiping her tears of mirth from her face, she tried to fix the hawk with a glare. "It is very hard to stop Ah-Un if he takes off."

"Oh, but merlin, it was quite funny. All of those eyes looking for me, and unable to see me. And I will not be held responsible, since you were the one to start it." The flame spun around her before zipping off a short distance.

Carefully stretching her aching sides, Rin gave both of the necks in front of her loving pats. "Now that we have that out of our systems, my lord, should we find something for dinner tonight?"

"Hai, perhaps a nice boar." There was no denying the anticipation in that hissing voice.

"Boar, huh? We will need to land, then. I doubt we will find any boar up here, to say nothing about Ah-Un scaring them off. He's not very sneaky."

Ah-Un gave a definite huff at her comment.

"Very well, merlin."

Two large pigs were cleaned and tied on Ah-Un. Well, I certainly did not plan on bringing back quite this much, but the fates had something else in mind.' The boar had been brought down quickly, arrows flying from Rin on the ground and Merkamou in a tree. The sow had rushed from the underbrush to attack Rin, but was stopped when the hawk dropped from the tree and brought her down with his talons. A quick slash from one of Rin's katanas and there was twice as much meat as planned. Unfortunately this meant that they had to walk back, but it had given Rin a chance to teach Merkamou about the flowers in the region.

Returning to the palace, servants pulled the future meal off of the dragon and dragged it into the kitchen. Ah-Un was led back to the palace to be cleaned off. Usually Rin would do this herself, but she was still in her blood stained clothing with her hair falling down. A bath was of the highest priority.

"If you will excuse me, my lord, I believe I will go and clean up."

"Probably a wise decision. Greeting your guests dressed like that would give a rather frightening impression."

Without thinking about it Rin poked Merkamou in the arm. Hard. "Hey! It is not my fault that I just helped to hunt down and butcher two large animals. It is bound to be hard on the clothes!" Realizing what she had done Rin went white. Staring at the floor, she waited for the yelling to begin.

Merkamou was rubbing his arm. "Easy, merlin. I will need that arm."

"I am so sorry, my lord. I did not mean to touch you. It will not happen again."

"Nani? Merlin, what are you babbling about?"

"My lord, I touched you without permission. I apologize."

Tipping his head to the side, Merkamou stared at the ningen. "And the many blows you have landed on me did not count?"

"That was different, that was sparring and I had permission."

"You have permission, merlin. I am not Sesshomaru, I am not going to rip your arms off for daring to touch my person."

Rin glanced up. "Are you sure, my lord?"

"Considering that Kagome-chan has already hit me with considerable force on several occasions, it seems only fair that you should have the same opportunities."

"Arigato, Merkamou-sama. If you will excuse me." Rin bolted for the palace.

Strange female.' Merkamou moved at a more leisurely pace, watching the activity in the palace as he made his way to his room. Rin was not the only one that needed to clean up after hunting for boar. Changing into a robe, Merkamou poked his head into the hall in time to see Rin skitter around the corner. Damn. Now I have to wait. I hate waiting.'

Settling back on his bed Merkamou pulled out the story he had been reading. He would read until her heard the familiar sound of the merlin's feet rushing by, then he could finish his own clean up.

A memory flew by, almost too quick to capture. Rin was smiling at him, panting after helping to kill the attacking sow. Adrenaline was singing in both of their veins.

No. Bad. Bad thoughts.'


	33. Company For Dinner

A/N: Sorry I've been gone, but I am now in Wisconsin. It is not even zero degrees out! Blah! Anyways, Merkamou has a devastating lead. I am such a softie, how could I make a sad ending? Of course, I'm not promising that my version of a happy ending coordinates with everyone else's, but oh well. I don't own any originals.

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"Ladies, what are the rules?"

"No running, no swearing, no hitting, no yelling." Mizuki and Rin spoke in perfect unison.

"And Rin?"

"No challenges."

Sango was highly amused by this display. "Kagome, do you guys do this every time you have company?"

"Only when we are going to try to give a good impression. Once the first impressions are done all bets are off. Hideaki has been talking with Sesshomaru and Merkamou since he got here, and now he is going to get to meet the rest of the pack. Except Katsuro, he'll meet him tomorrow. I don't think Katsuro could make it through a whole meal with trying to throw something." Checking her own hair for the last time Kagome eyeballed her pups.

"I will remember this for when my own children are old enough." Hiding her laughter behind her hand Sango's eyes smiled at her trainee.

Rin and Mizuki looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "Mama, we know how to behave. Really." Dressed in another kimono lent to her by Rin, Mizuki looked quite a bit older than eight.

'I will need to arrange for new clothes for her, since she will never let me change my mind now. She does look very nice though.' Tucking a stray silver strand back in with the rest, Kagome smiled at her daughter. "Mizuki, I am just reminding everyone. I know you will be perfect as always."

The snort was out before Rin was even aware that it was coming.

"Rin, on the other hand, does have a history of trouble making." Crossing her arms, Kagome glared at the girl that was now a few inches taller than she was. "Well? Do you think we can make it through this visit without any fights?"

"I will not start them, Kagome-chan."

Grinding her teeth, Kagome turned on her heel to march to the dining hall. Her companions trailed behind her, whispering to each other. "I can hear you, you know!"

"Hideaki-sama, may I present my mate, the Lady Kagome. Kagome, this is the Lord of the North and his son, Isamu."

Bowing low, Kagome concentrated on measured, calm movements. She tucked her hands into her sleeves so that she would not be tempted to fidget with anything or gesture wildly. "An honor, my lord."

"It is a great pleasure to meet you, Kagome-sama. I have heard many tales of your strength, but not nearly enough of your beauty." The cool blue eyes gave nothing away, but there was a friendly cast to his face. He had hair to about the middle of his back, silver spotted with black in a leopard pattern. His clothing was in shades of blue, conservative while giving the impression of wealth. He was slightly shorter than Sesshomaru, with two horizontal lines of blue on his otherwise perfect face. He was quiet, conservative, but radiated control and power. While Sesshomaru was ice, he was the calm of a deep lake. The surface gave nothing away, but it was still more welcoming than the Lord of the West.

"I am flattered, my lord." Straightening up, Kagome gave a shy smile. Behind Hideaki glowered his son, not even bothering to hide his annoyance. Despite the fact that Kagome knew he was a century old, he did not look a day over nineteen. He looked like a younger, untested, and less controlled version of his father. "Isamu-sama, it is a pleasure to meet you as well."

"I have no time for this." Isamu spun on his heel and marched to the door. Hideaki was staring at his son with one eyebrow raised, disapproval evident. Even Sesshomaru and Merkamou looked annoyed with the young lord's lack of manners.

'Oh, no you don't, cub.' Kagome slapped up a barrier across the door and let the impatient youkai slam right into it. It was most satisfying to see the rude male stumble back with a shocked expression.

"What is this? Who is doing this?"

"I apologize, my lord, but I have not had a chance to meet you yet. Would you care to return and share a meal with us?" Kagome's sweet voice gave none of her plans away, but her eyes were flashing with annoyance.

"I wish to leave. I will not sit here surrounded by weaklings and disgusting half-breeds."

A slight catch of breath was the only sound Mizuki made, and she did not move. The tiny sound was more than enough for her mother, though. "Cub, I recommend that you apologize to my daughter immediately. You are in my home, and you will not insult my children."

Sesshomaru made a move towards the youngster, but an almost invisible hand signal from Kagome kept him back. She was advancing herself, casually pulling her sleeves up. "It is your choice, my lord. You may continue to insult my family in our own home and bring dishonor on your father, or you may apologize and we can sit down to a nice meal. Of course, if you do not apologize, I am going to hurt you. A lot." The exposed hands were now glowing pink.

"You would not dare." Isamu glanced to his father, and found him standing with the other taiyoukai with a slightly amused expression.

"Oh, cub. You obviously have not met Kagome-sama." Merkamou was chuckling to himself. "Trust me, you do not wish for her to get a hold of you. If I were you I would apologize."

"Apologize to a ningen? Never." Isamu closed the remaining distance between himself and the miko to glare down at her. There was a flash of pink as the miko dropped the old barrier and a new barrier was erected to keep her enraged mate on the other side of the room.

"Baka." Kagome set her hand against the lord's chest and threw him across the room so that he slid to a stop against a wall. Shaking her head, she walked across the room at a leisurely pace. "Do we need to do that again, or have you learned your lesson on manners?"

"Bitch."

Nausea rushed over Kagome as Sesshomaru attacked the barrier keeping him away. It was only one hit, but he was certainly mad enough to make it count. Fighting away the haze around her vision, Kagome reached down to grab onto the visitor's arm. The familiar burning smell filled the air as she gave him a nasty burn on his arm, leaving a smoldering hole in his clothes. "You may apologize at your leisure, my lord."

Glaring past her at his father, who was watching with the same calm expression, Isamu gave. "I apologize to Mizuki-sama for my comment. It was uncalled for."

"Good boy." Kagome turned to lock eyes with her mate. 'Oh, great. He hasn't been that pissed in years.' Merkamou had edged a short distance away from Sesshomaru and was watching him with leery eyes. Struggling to avoid swaying, Kagome moved so that she was right in front of the inu-youkai. As her barrier fell she dropped a hand on his arm, calming him. Her eyes fluttered as exhaustion dragged at her, but she was able to stay upright with the support of his arm.

The amber eyes locked with hers, a very clear thought being directed her way. 'We will deal with this later.'

Gulp. Kagome gave Sesshomaru a weak smile and allowed him to walk her to her seat. She was thankful to be sitting, with the world insisting on moving around the way it was. The rest of the group took the signal and settled into their places. With everyone seated dinner was quickly brought out and gave everyone something to focus on other than the recent exchange.

Hideaki seemed to have completely forgotten the sight of his son flying through the air. "Sesshomaru-sama, your introductions were rudely interrupted, so I do not know several of the lovely ladies dining with us tonight. Could you please introduce me?"

"Apologies. This is my daughter, Mizuki."

The pup immediately climbed to her feet and bowed. "My lord."

"This is my ward, Rin, and the youkai exterminator Sango."

The two dark haired females stood and bowed together. "My lord."

With just eight people eating and the social nature of the visit the meal was family style. Isamu would cast the occasional glare towards Kagome, but stopped the behavior when she caught him in the act. She set one hand on the table, glowing ever so slightly, and raised one eyebrow at him. Grimacing, the youngster turned away. The exchange was not lost on Merkamou, who was trying to behave like the other taiyoukai but having a very difficult time.

"You set a fine table, Sesshomaru-sama. Your kitchens have prepared enough for an army, and yet there are only eight of us tonight." Hideaki helped himself to some more of the pork. He caught an amused glance from Merkamou directed at the ward, and the ward's quick move to hide behind a sleeve. "Perhaps you will let us in on the joke, Merkamou-sama."

"The hunt today did not go exactly to plan, Hideaki-sama. That is all."

"Perhaps Rin-sama would enlighten me as to how the hunt was so amusing." Hideaki was curious as to why the ward would be involved in this joke.

"We did not intend to bring back two, my lord, only one. It seems that the fates had other plans. The sow attacked after we had brought the boar down, so we brought back twice as much food as planned." The girl had a polite smile, her mirth now under control.

"We? It was you who accompanied Merkamou-sama?"

Now Rin was blushing, uncertain on how she was supposed to answer. "Hai, my lord."

"Interesting."

Isamu tried giving Rin a glare, since Kagome did not seem like a safe choice. The soft brown eyes caught his, quickly assessing his look. The soft color hardened to steel and her free hand began to move to her waist before clenching and coming to rest on the table. Isamu was now curious. 'Is that ningen seriously considering challenging me? What kind of females does Sesshomaru keep in this place?'

Fighting back a sigh Kagome gave Rin a tap on her arm. A guilty look, then Rin relaxed her hand and focused on her meal. Sango also relaxed, now that she did not have to worry about intercepting her trainee before she vaulted over the table at the honored guests. 'You would think that she would have more self control. Honestly.'

As soon as it was polite Kagome was excusing herself and her daughter from the room. Mizuki had been absolutely silent the entire meal and had barely moved other than to eat. With a quick bow Kagome escorted the pup from the room, giving Isamu a parting glare for his words.

"I think you made an enemy today, cub."

Isamu almost missed the comment from Merkamou, as he was too busy glaring at the door the two females had left through. "Excuse me?"

"Kagome-sama will not forget your insults today."

"Insolent wench," Isamu growled under his breath. The attack did not come from the inu-youkai, as he had expected, but came instead from his own father. His throat was in a vise like grip, making breathing impossible as his father stared at him with impassive eyes.

"You will conduct yourself with honor, Isamu. Do not insult Sesshomaru-sama's mate while eating at his table." Releasing his son, Hideaki returned to his meal.

"Very well, father. I will not insult Sesshomaru-sama's mate." The dark glare directed at the other two ningen left the rest of his thought plain to any.

"If you have something to say, my lord, it would be better to just say it." Rin's soft voice was in a direct contrast to the look on her face as she locked her eyes on his, her body still.

"Rin," Sango hissed, trying to distract her.

"I have nothing to say to you, weakling."

Rin's hand went to her side, finding her twin hilts.

"Rin, no challenges!" Tugging on her trainee's arm, Sango tried to make Rin look away without luck.

"Let her challenge me, it would be amusing." Isamu's hand was going to his own waist.

One of Rin's katanas moved, an inch of steel showing.

"Rin." The cold voice washed over the young warrior like a bucket of water.

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama. Gomen nasai." Taking a deep breath, she turned to Isamu. "I apologize for my behavior."

Isamu's fingers twitched, disappointed that his fun was getting away. Bowing, Sango and Rin excused themselves and left the taiyoukai alone. Sesshomaru's face gave away nothing, but he desperately wanted to slaughter Hideaki's heir on the spot. Not only his mate and his daughter, but now his ward had been insulted.

"Hideaki-sama, as you have been a peaceful neighbor to this family for many centuries this Sesshomaru will not harm your heir. Tonight. He would do well to not insult my pack."

"Understood, Sesshomaru-sama." Hideaki pierced his son with a glare. 'The cub will be paying for this dishonorable behavior.'

"That ningen was challenging me. I was within my rights. Her life is mine to take." Crossing his arms in defiance, Isamu glared at the older taiyoukai. He was not expecting laughter.

"Cub, I would be highly surprised if you were able to take that one's life." Still laughing, Merkamou shook his head. "Sesshomaru-sama, will you let this fool risk his life like that?"

"If he is fool enough to start the fight, this Sesshomaru will not stay Rin's hand."

"May I be excused?" Without waiting for an answer Isamu stormed from the room.

'Well, this meal went well. Merkamou must be delighted.' Fighting down the urge to rub his head, Sesshomaru finished off his tea.

"The littles are all gone, let us find some sake and have a real discussion." Merkamou was grinning at his companions.

Hideaki stretched. "That is not a bad idea. Sesshomaru, I do apologize for Isamu. He has never been particularly fond of ningens and always thought that you had the right attitude regarding them. When he heard that you had taken a miko he was rather angry about it."

"He will learn. Perhaps I will let Rin teach him a lesson."

The tea was being whisked away and was being replaced by a bottle of sake and some cups. Merkamou poured for all three. Drinking the sake, the three relaxed slightly.

"You think your Rin can defeat him?" Hideaki eyed the aloof inu-youkai. It was not like him to place any faith in another's abilities.

"I have not seen your heir in battle, but Rin is a skilled fighter. It would be interesting."

"I think she could beat him." Merkamou's eyes were glowing with amusement. "I have seen Isamu before, and while he is strong he has all of the recklessness of youth. She would be able to slide through those holes."

"Would you care to wager on it?" Hideaki had one vice, and it was gambling. He was an unstopable tactician, a cool negotiator, and an awe inspiring fighter, but he could not pass up a wager.

"You will not wager on my ward's life." Sesshomaru was not surprised, but he was not amused that Rin's life would be the focus of a bet.

"Not to the death, just some sparring. The merlin is always looking for a new opponent, and it would do Isamu some good to face a ningen of her abilities." Leaning forward in excitement, Merkamou tried to sway Sesshomaru. "I will not enter a wager without Sesshomaru's permission, of course."

"Do as you please." Taking another drink Sesshomaru tried to ignore the escalating situation.

"What shall we wager, Hideaki?"

"I have a cask of sake that is like the nectar of the gods. What will you put against that?"

Hideaki's eyes were locked on Merkamou, waiting for his offer.

"I have a matched pair of throwing daggers, wonderfully weighted as well as being examples of exquisite craftsmanship. I understand that you are quite the marksman, and would get good use from them." Merkamou's guess was on the mark as Hideaki nodded.

"Hai. It is a wager then. Shall we say three rounds, to a yield or kill? My sake against your daggers?"

"That is a wager, Hideaki." Merkamou leaned across the table to shake on the bet. He was already envisioning a new cask of sake to enjoy.

"If you both have finished this behavior." Momentarily forgotten, Sesshomaru gave his companions cold looks.

Taking a risk, Merkamou raised an eyebrow at Sesshomaru. "Do you ever have any fun, Sesshomaru?"

Amber eyes met gold, and for an instant Merkamou could have sworn that Sesshomaru had amusement in his eyes. But the eyes were as cold as ever as he spoke. "It is well known that this Sesshomaru does not indulge in fun."

Hideaki snorted. "Hai, Sesshomaru."

"Mizuki? Are you going to talk to me tonight?"

The sapphire eyes were dark with hurt. "Am I disgusting, Mama?"

Heart breaking, Kagome pulled her daughter into her lap. "No, no, a million times no. He is a rude, arrogant pig."

"Snow leopard."

"You know what I mean, Mizuki. You didn't believe him when he called Rin a weakling, did you?"

"Of course not! Rin could beat him up any day."

Tucking her daughter's silver hair back, Kagome smiled. "Then why would you believe what he said about you?"

"It was the way he looked at me. Like I was disgusting. It made me feel all cold and slimy."

"He won't do it again. Your mama taught him a lesson, remember?"

"Hai. That was kind of scary. How did you do that?"

'That's right, she's never seen me fight before.' Kagome turned her daughter so she could see her face. "Your mama's a miko."

"I know that." Life was coming back to the pup as she gave her mother an aggravated glare. "Is that what mikos do? All that pink glowing? Father did not look happy."

"No, he does not like it when I use that trick. He likes the other tricks even less, though. The burns hurt quite a bit, or so I'm told."

"You have burned father?"

"Just sometimes, when he's being naughty. Oh, don't give me that look. Somebody has to keep him in line."

"If you say so, Mama."

Giggling at her daughter's scandalized expression Kagome pulled her into a hug. "Do not even think about what Isamu said. If he says anything else to you then you can pick who beats him up."

"Who do I get to pick from?"

"Me, Rin, or your father."

"Perhaps I will let everyone have a turn, to be fair."

Giggles erupted from the pup when her mother started tickling her. "I think you're really mad at him, to set all three of us on him at the same time."

"He was most dishonorable, insulting us in our own home. He deserves it."

"Fair enough. Do you want a story before bed?"

"Please? The one about the well?"

"All right. Once upon a time there was a girl who lived at a shrine. One day, while chasing her cat, she fell through a magical well and went 500 years into the past. She met many friends, many enemies, and one person who was to be her mate."


	34. Crush

A/N: It's a posting frenzy! I'm not going to be online at all tomorrow, so here's the next one. The ages . . . I had Rin at five when she was in the show, so she was nine in Nothing Left, then she is 19 in MM. Kagome is 28, Sesshomaru is about 300 or so, Merkamou is about 350 or so, Hideaki is about 700 or so, and Isamu is around 100. Hope I sorted that out. I own none of the originals, of course.

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"You what? How could you? And Sesshomaru, how could you let him? Have you lost your mind?"

Sesshomaru gave Merkamou a look so clear that words were not needed. 'You deal with her.'

Glaring at both of the taiyoukai, Kagome had her hands on her hips. Her aura was up and snapping, a clear warning of her mood.

"Kagome-sama, there is no danger. Do you honestly think that the merlin would let Isamu go without punishment after last night? It is a foregone conclusion that she will fight him. This way it will not be to the death, just sparring."

'Damn taiyoukai. The whole lot of them.' Her snapping energy prickled the skin of the lords watching her. "Fine, but if she is hurt I'm coming after the both of you." She turned on her heel and marched down the hall to her study.

"Sesshomaru, I think we got off light." Smoothing out clothing helped Merkamou forget that prickling sensation.

"Hai."

"Katsuro, my precious, you'll never be as annoying as your daddy and his friends, will you? No, not my pup. You'll listen to me just like you should."

Rin and Mizuki both rolled their eyes as Kagome fussed over her son. She had stormed into the study growling something about burning arrogant bastards. Her mood had improved the second she took Katsuro from his nurse, cuddling him and babbling. The sisters returned to Mizuki's reading lesson, ignoring Kagome's antics.

'Uh oh, I hear the Captain coming. He's going to be looking for me.' Looking up to the door she saw the familiar, toughened face of her weapons instructor. "Good morning, Captain."

"Good morning. Where's Sango-sama?" Glancing around the Captain looked for his partner in crime.

"She went home to visit her family this morning. She'll be back in a couple of days. It's not fair to keep her away from her own litter for so long." Kagome smiled at her weapons instructor.

"Well, Rin, Merkamou-sama is after me to have you come out and train. I think he wants you to show off for Hideaki-sama. Or he's bored. It could be both."

Kagome let out a snort. "No, he wants Rin to fight Isamu."

"I certainly wouldn't mind." A distracted finger was running over one of her hilts. "I could use some work against a new opponent."

"Knock it off, Rin-chan. That is Hideaki's heir, and it would not be a good idea to hurt him." Kagome was glaring at both Rin and the Captain.

"Miko, he is still a taiyoukai. Rin won't do any damage to him that will last more than a day. Right, Rin?"

"Hai, Captain. I won't run away, Kagome-chan. Not after last night. He needs to pay for what he said to Mizuki. I can ignore what he said to me, since I am an adult and can deal with it, but he should not pick on pups. Might as well get this over with before I have any more reasons to hate him."

"Then I'm coming with you. If either of you loses control you are both going to wish you were never born." Scooping up a blanket for her son, Kagome stormed out the door. Befuddled, the Captain and sisters followed her out.

Out past the gardens she found Sesshomaru locked in battle with Hideaki. Both were moving so fast that she could barely see it as they parried and charged. Her heart in her throat, Kagome frantically tried to see if it was real or practice.

Merkamou and Isamu were sitting to the side, calmly watching. 'It must be practice.' Setting out her blanket Kagome sat down to watch. Mizuki and Rin joined her, their eyes never leaving the spectacle before them. Even Katsuro was watching with wide eyes.

Kagome never knew the result of the match. The two separated, unharmed, and inclined their heads to each other. The spell broken, Mizuki and Rin started to chatter to each other, catching Merkamou and Isamu's attention.

"Good morning, Kagome-sama, Mizuki-sama, merlin." Merkamou bowed before reaching down to Katsuro. "And good morning to you as well, pup."

Katsuro obliged the lord with a giggle and a wave of his hands.

The rest of the taiyoukai were coming over and Kagome climbed to her feet. Sesshomaru motioned her closer while turning to Hideaki. "This is my son, Katsuro."

The pup swiveled his ears at the familiar sound of his father's voice. Emerald eyes ranged over the faces till he found the familiar one. He let out a little yip, then giggled again.

Hideaki moved closer, amused at the wary expression on Kagome's face. "Peace, Kagome-sama. He is a feisty one, are you not, pup?"

Before Kagome could warn him away Katsuro had the lord's hair and was showing no signs of releasing it. Juggling the pup while trying to pry him loose, the horrified mother made apologies. "I am so sorry, Hideaki-sama. He seems to be fascinated with hair right now."

Mizuki slipped in and tickled her brother. With a squeal of delight Katsuro released his new toy to focus on his sister. Backing away, Mizuki bowed before returning to her seat on the blanket.

His hair freed, Hideaki pulled it back to safety behind his shoulders. "Thank you for the rescue, Mizuki-sama." Quietly, meant only for her mother, he continued. "She is a fine daughter, with excellent poise and manners. You must be very proud. I have five daughters, and they are a rebellious lot. I wish that some of them had her sense."

"Ariagato, my lord." Pride was shining in Kagome's eyes. "We did not mean to interrupt your practice."

"Oh, no harm done. Sesshomaru-sama and I were just about to finish. Is that not so?"

"Hai." Pausing to run a finger over his pup's cheek, Sesshomaru moved to join Merkamou. The hawk was whispering with Rin and those two were not to be left unsupervised. Rin ginned to her friend, then moved out into the field, stretching out her arms.

"Are you looking for some work, Rin-sama?" Hideaki was watching the girl as she stretched, trying to judge her abilities. He could see nothing spectacular.

"Perhaps, my lord. I am always eager to face a new opponent to improve my skills." Rin's hand was trailing across her hilts again, giving away her eagerness.

"Oh, enough beating around the bush. Get out there, Isamu-sama." Patience had never been a strength for Kagome.

There was a smile that was closer to a snarl as Isamu joined Rin in the field. "With pleasure."

Smiling pleasantly, Rin bowed. It was not returned, of course, and she added one more insult to her list of deeds to punish him for. She drew one katana, but left the other at her side. "Whenever you are ready, my . . ."

He was on her before she could even finish the sentence. Blocking and falling back, Rin retreated while looking for a hole. There were many to choose from. The cub was just hacking at her in a show of frustration and pride, confident in his superior strength. She let him continue to pummel away, wanting to slip through and make a kill.

Isamu was making a grandiose wing, both hands coming up, when Rin charged instead of retreating, laying her blade against his body. "Kill, my lord."

Snarling, Isamu knocked her away and down into the grass. "A lucky shot, ningen. It would not be enough to stop me it this were real."

"Well, then, I will give you another try." Leaping to her feet Rin charged, shocking the taiyoukai. They were locked in a close exchange for many minutes, steel ringing off of steel as each tried to bring the other down. Slipping behind her Isamu slammed his hilt into the side of her head, making her see stars and stagger. Dropping to one knee Rin found her head being pulled back by her hair and a sword at her throat. A low voice growled in her ear. "Kill."

"I am going to slaughter your heir." Merkamou glared at Hideaki.

"His death is my business." Sesshomaru let a small growl escape from his chest. Before them Isamu had released Rin, who was shaking the haze away from her eyes. Smirking, the young lord was walking away.

There was a hiss as Rin drew her second katana. "Best out of three, my lord?"

Turning back, Isamu found his opponent on her feet and ready to go again. "Baka. If you wish for more pain, I will give it to you."

"Only if you can catch me, you bastard."

"Mother, is Rin going to kill Isamu-sama this time?" Mizuki's eyes followed her sister's every move.

"No killing, Rin-chan!" Kagome was not taking any chances.

Charging, Isamu swung in an attempt to batter her to the ground. But she was not there. She was behind him, shoving him forward and knocking him off balance. Spinning, he swung again as he staggered. He was blocked, although it took both of her blades to stop the force.

The two blades seemed to take on lives of their own. Isamu had the impression of fighting two opponents, not just one. While distracted between the two blades he received a sharp kick to a rather sensitive part of his anatomy. Dropping to a knee he was knocked flat by a kick from Rin to his head. Pinning him down, she set both blades to his throat. "Kill, my lord."

Wincing, Merkamou glanced at Hideaki. "At least your daughters will provide a continuation of the bloodline."

Climbing to her feet, Rin glared at Isamu, who glared back. She let out an exasperated sigh as she took pity on the young taiyoukai and slid both of her blades into their sheaths. "Truce?" She held out her hand to the downed lord.

Isamu had no interest in continuing the fight with this female now. She would fight dirty, and he wanted to know how she could wield those two blades as she did. He hesitated, then reached up with his own hand. "Truce."

Rin pulled him to his feet, smiling. "Merkamou-sama should have warned you, I use some dirty tricks when necessary."

Between his aching head and other body parts, Isamu had limited interest in having this female mad at him again. She had been toying with him for the first two rounds. He knew that now that he had seen her second blade in action. 'No, I would rather not have this one plotting against me.'

"Come on." Rin let Isamu lean against her shoulder as she walked back to the spectators, holding her own head.

"I certainly hope you have learned a lesson from this, Isamu." Hideaki did not look pleased with his son, but Rin's punishment had been enough to keep the other two taiyoukai at bay for the time being.

"Hai. Do not cross this ningen."

That earned Isamu a smack on the back of his head and a growl from Rin. Normally she would not behave in such a familiar way with a youkai lord, but he deserved it!

"Ow! Hey, not the head! You can probably see an imprint of your boot still!"

"And I have an imprint of your hilt on mine, so no complaining!"

"Both of you, knock it off!"

"Gomen, Kagome-chan." Rin gave Isamu a sharp nudge.

"Gomen, Kagome-sama."

"I think your son has met his match." Hideaki fought down a smile at Merkamou's whispered comment.

"Hai. A pity she is a ningen."

Merkamou raised an eyebrow at the comment. It was a natural conclusion, of course, with Rin propping Isamu up and the new respect in the leopard's eyes. If Rin were Sesshomaru's true daughter the match would be perfect. But she was just a ningen. She was not the miko that had defeated Naraku, she was an orphan with no family and nothing to offer a family except her skills with her swords. Not an acceptable mate for a taiyoukai. Kagome had been able to survive the many attempts on her life, but Rin would not be able to stand alone against the groups trying to kill her. The thoughts were depressing to Merkamou, well out of proportion to the conversation.

"A pity."

Isamu watched from a branch high in a tree as that ningen and her hanyou sister groomed a two headed dragon. He could hear them chattering, some of it girlish nonsense, but more of it was about the care and training of dragons such as the one they were working on. Rather interesting. Both were dressed in clothing more appropriate for males. The hanyou's clothing was of excellent materials and in perfect repair, while the ningen looked closer to a peasant then a ward of Sesshomaru. Rubbing his aching throat, Isamu remembered his run in with the inu-youkai earlier that day. Sesshomaru had slammed him into a wall, growling. He was very annoyed by Isamu's behavior so far, and wanted to make a point.

'Point taken. Between the miko, the ningen, and the taiyoukai I have had enough. This family is insane. The safest one is that hanyou.'

The sisters were whispering. The pup turned and looked directly at him, her face blank. "My lord Isamu, if you would like to examine Ah-Un you may. We would not mind your company."

'So much for being unobserved. The pup probably caught scent of me. Damn dogs and their noses.' Dropping from the tree with careless grace, he wandered over to the dragon. "I have never seen a dragon quite like this one. Where did he come from?"

"I'm not sure. Sesshomaru-sama got him as a present from his father. You would have to ask him." Rin was running a brush through the creature's mane. The hanyou was on the other side of the dragon, hiding from sight.

"And what is he like? He seems very docile."

"Oh, yes, very docile, until he gets into a fight." Running a loving hand down one of her mount's necks Rin smiled. "He can be quite vicious when necessary."

"And fast." A quiet voice piped up from the other side of the dragon.

"How fast?"

"This fast." Rin jumped on bareback, using Ah-Un's twin halters to steer. Launching into the air, Ah-Un soared away with his rider clinging to his mane.

"Not fair."

The hanyou was staring at the sky, watching the dragon with longing.

"Nani?"

Starting, Mizuki glanced at Isamu. "I am not allowed to ride Ah-Un for two more days, my lord."

"Why not?"

Looking at the ground, Mizuki hid her face behind her hair. "I was caught riding him alone without permission."

"Is that all?"

"No. I dived at some of the servants and frightened them. Mother was very unhappy."

"I would have never guessed that about you, pup." Isamu turned his attention back to the dragon.

"My lord, you should not try to predict me. You do not know anything about me."

Both eyebrows disappeared into Isamu's hair as he stared at Mizuki. She gave him a small smile, then darted away. Mystified, he watched her, never noticing the oncoming dragon.

A brush of a tail sent him down into the grass, sputtering as Ah-Un circled around. Slowly the duo sank to the ground. Isamu could swear that the dragon was laughing at him. A giggle was also coming from the hanyou, watching from the safety of a tree.

"Gomen, Isamu-sama. We could not resist when you were so distracted." Rin slipped from Ah-Un's back, unsuccessful in hiding her smile.

"I will remember this, Rin-sama." Brushing off his clothes, he gave her a smile. A real one.

Almost forgetting how to talk, Rin focused on the dragon. 'Wow, he is actually very handsome when he is not snarling and looking down his nose at me.' Taking a deep breath, she turned back to the leopard. "Perhaps you would like to ride Ah-Un later, when he has tack."

"That sounds like an enjoyable afternoon, Rin-sama." Isamu approached the dragon, holding out his hand. Ah-Un sniffed him over carefully, then decided he was uninteresting and returned to tearing up grass. Sliding his hands down the neck, Isamu gave the dragon a closer inspection. "He is certainly faster then he looks."

Edging away from his closer position, Rin kept her eyes on the dragon. "He surprises a lot of people. I have known him and ridden him since I was littler than Mizuki, and he still surprises me. I am supposed to have his muzzles on, since he is out of his stall, but I like for him to get a chance to graze while I work on him."

"Muzzles? Why could he possibly need muzzles?"

"He can blow things up." Mizuki was back, petting one of the heads while it rubbed against her. "I saw him do it once while Rin was training."

"Impressive." Isamu had noticed Rin edging away from him. He took a step closer to her, to watch her shift away. He repeated the process, pursuing Rin in slow motion around the dragon. Mizuki watched them both from the corner of her eye, pretending to ignore them.

"I believe it is time to take Ah-Un back to his stall. It will be time for dinner soon. Mizuki-chan, we need to return to the palace."

"Hai." Taking Ah-Un's leads Mizuki lead him back to the stables.

"I will see you at dinner, my lord." Bowing, Rin made a hasty retreat. Catching up with her sister, she ran a hand over her hair and was appalled that it was practically standing on end after her ride on Ah-Un.

"Don't worry, Rin-neechan. I don't think he noticed your hair." Tucking Ah-Un into his stall, Mizuki slipped both of his halters off.

"Nani?"

"I think he is more interested because you can beat him up then because of your hair."

"What, exactly, are you saying, pup?"

Mizuki was silent as they walked through the gardens.

"Mizuki, you tell me right now." Rin had her best big sister face on.

The sapphire eyes looked so innocent as she gazed up at her big sister and spoke in a sing-song voice. "Isamu has a crush on you."

"You are dead, pup!"

Squealing, Mizuki bolted for the palace, easily outpacing her ningen sister but knowing that she had better make it to her room before Rin got there. Glancing behind her, she did not see Rin chasing her, so she slowed as she passed through the courtyard. Trotting quickly through the palace she weaved through the halls to her room. Standing at the door was Rin.

"Impossible!" Mizuki started to back up, not liking the look in her sister's eyes.

"You forgot the back way in." Rin lunged at her sister, just barely missing as Mizuki swerved around her and made a break for her room. "Get back here, Mizuki! You are just making this harder on yourself!"

Throwing herself into her room, the pup tried to get her door shut but Rin had her foot in it. Options running out, Mizuki did something desperate. "Mama! Rin-neechan is going to kill me!"

Grabbing her sister, Rin slapped a hand over Mizuki's mouth. "You are going to get us into so much trouble!"

Footsteps were coming down the hall. Hissing at her sister, Rin let her go. "This is all your fault."

"What are you two doing? Half of the palace can hear you two yelling in here!" Kagome was glaring at the two while Katsuro stared at them.

"Rin was going to kill me."

"You started it, you were teasing me."

"Was not, it was just the truth."

"Not true! He does not!"

"Yes he does."

"No he does not."

Yes he does!"

"No he does not!"

"Knock it off!" Kagome's glare was getting worse, making the sisters cower.

"Gomen, Kagome-chan." "Gomen, Mama."

"I don't know what you two are arguing over, but stop it. I will not have you two embarrassing us while we have guests. Just sort it out quietly. Rin, don't kill your sister. Mizuki, don't tease your sister. Now go get cleaned up for dinner. I would like to have a nice, quiet meal with no fighting, no challenges, and no injuries! Understood?"

"Hai, Kagome-chan." "Hai, Mama."

With a final glare, Kagome disappeared back down the hallway.

"So, do you like him?"

"You are so dead, pup."


	35. From the East

A/N: I am so tired. I have been in the car for about 36 hours since Wendsday, and tomorrow I drive for about 24 more. Blah. Don't plan on seeing anything tomorrow, since I will be beyond crispy. I don't own any of the originals.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Miko, he's here."

Kagome did not even need to ask who 'he' was. "Is he in the palace yet?"

The Captain shook his head. "He is about two hours away. He appears to be alone."

Katsuro squirmed as his mother's grip tightened. "Notify my guard. I will let Sesshomaru know myself. Find Mizuki and Rin and tell them to come here and wait for me to get back. And send a message off to Sango, lets see if we can get her back here. From now on we assume that there is an assassin in the palace, and it could be anyone. Mizuki and Katsuro are not to be left alone."

Bowing, the Captain left Kagome to stare at her son. 'The assassin is here for you, my son. Why won't they just leave us alone?' Shaking her head, Kagome lifted her son and set out through the palace. Sesshomaru was in a meeting room, and from the feel of things he was not alone.

Slipping into the room, Kagome bowed. "My lord, may I speak with you for a moment?"

"Hai." Sesshomaru rose and moved to her side. She took his arm and steered him out the door.

"He's two hours away."

Her mate's body tensed. "Understood. We will be finished before he arrives." He turned to return to the room.

"Hideaki, are you going to tell him?"

"I will tell him something. I will not mention the Lady Akira."

"I will be in my study." Kagome squeezed his arm, then brought her son back to her study flanked by two guards.

In her study she found Mizuki and Rin, still glaring at each other. Whatever Mizuki was teasing Rin about had not let up since the previous night.

"Rin-chan, the emissary will be here in less then two hours."

The young warrior glanced at Mizuki, the teasing forgotten. "Very well, Kagome-chan. Mizuki-chan, I am going to move you into my room for the time being."

"Nani? Mama, what is going on?" Mizuki looked annoyed and worried.

"The emissary is not of the friendly sort. He may be trying to hurt you and Katsuro, so I have asked Rin to stay with you until we think it is safe again. You are also going to have some guards, and you absolutely will not give them the slip. Do you understand how important this is?" Trying not to upset her daughter Kagome tried to downplay the situation.

"He's an assassin, is he not Mama?"

'Damn, she's a bright pup.' Sighing, Kagome gave. "Hai, Mizuki-chan. Either the emissary or someone else coming with him is an assassin."

"I will stay with Rin. I promise, Mama, I will do what you want."

Setting down Katsuro, Kagome opened her arms for her daughter. Mizuki moved into her embrace, giving her mother a quick hug before pulling away to sit next to Rin again.

"Well, Mizuki, you are going to be stuck with me a lot for the next week. I am sure we can find plenty of trouble to cause." Rin ruffled her sister's hair.

"I can go out on Ah-Un starting tomorrow." Smiling at her sister, Mizuki was already planning. 'Maybe this will not be so bad. Rin is more fun than the guards.'

"Rin-chan, don't corrupt my well behaved daughter. I don't need another pup starting fights with the honored guests."

"He started it." Crossing her arms Rin gave Kagome a glare.

"Rin-chan does not want to talk about Isamu-sama. She has told me so." An evil grin was on the pup's face as a blush appeared on her sister's face.

"Mizuki . . ." The years spent in an inu-youkai household had given Rin an excellent growl.

"Is that what this is all about? Have you been teasing Rin about Isamu?" Kagome looked back and forth between the two girls. The answer was obvious when Mizuki ducked her head to hide behind her hair and Rin's blush intensified. "Kami save me from hormones. Mizuki, leave your sister alone."

"Hai, Mama."

"And Rin-chan, is it true?"

"Kagome-chan!" Rin's loud voice made Mizuki jump. "No! Where is everybody getting this from? Did I or did I not cause him injury yesterday? And I knocked him over with Ah-Un."

"Isamu-sama chased Rin-neechan around Ah-Un afterwards. It was very slow, and kind of strange." Tipping her head over, Mizuki looked to her sister.

"He was too close. I moved away, and he followed me. It was nothing, Mizuki."

"Hn." The conversation was bringing back some memories for Kagome. It was not that long ago that she was screaming in the courtyard about a male trying to kill her, and how could that be considered courting?

"Okay, Rin-chan. You don't need to yell, unless you want the whole palace to start asking questions. As long as you two stick together and keep the guards with you, you can go find something to do." Katusuro was fussing and distracting Kagome.

"We will stay together. Right, Mizuki-chan?" Rin climbed to her feet and tugged her sister up with her.

"Hai, Rin-neechan."

The sisters left the study, leaving Kagome to focus on Katsuro and her thoughts. 'Hmm, I wonder what is going on there. I hope there is nothing, since it would be very hard to try and get her mated to the heir of the North. I would not want her to go through what I am dealing with, anyways. My little ones will hardly know me.' Running her hand over her son's hair, Kagome tried to steer her thoughts away from that dark place. Instead she would focus on the new threat. Mizuki had her sister and guards to keep her safe. Katsuro was a bigger target, and would be staying with his mother, father, or the Captain from now on. The emissary only needed to see Katsuro once, and that would be at a distance with a number of guards and taiyoukai to watch.

"Don't worry, Katsuro. Your mama will keep you safe. Anyone who tries to hurt you will have to answer to me and your father. And your father has a temper, even worse than mine."

----

'I hate politics.'

Staring at the bowing emissary, Sesshomaru kept his face blank while he fought off the urge to simply strike this creature down where he stood. Either the emissary was a fabulous actor, or he was not the primary assassin. He truly seemed to be a low ranking noble that had been sent as punishment.

"Sesshomaru-sama, I bring the greetings and felicitations of the Eastern court on the birth of your heir."

"Hn."

"Uh. . . " The speech would require a greeting from Sesshomaru at this point, but the lord did not seem to be willing to cooperate. The emissary scrambled to start his speech again. "I look forward to meeting your mate and offspring, my lord. Lord Ryuutaisho was very interested in their wellbeing."

Silence.

Squirming, the emissary racked his brain. "Perhaps, my lord, I could meet your family tonight?"

"My mate and eldest will be at dinner. A servant will show you to your rooms and will inform you when dinner is ready." Sesshomaru gestured, bringing a servant and two guards. With a final cold stare, he turned and left the room.

The emissary stared after the cold inu-youkai. 'I will enjoy bringing you agony with the destruction of your mutts.' He followed the servant out, followed by the guards.

----

"No rules tonight, ladies. We are not out to impress this one." Kagome tucked her dagger into her obi. "I'd prefer you didn't kill him, though. Only if he does something really rash should you attack him. Other than that we can just ignore him. And no fighting with Isamu."

Her daughters nodded. Rin was fighting with her hair again, trying to pin it down. Both were dressed in a conservative manner with little in the way of decorations. They were acutely aware that the newest addition was not a friend. Rin was still annoyed that she was going to be sitting next to him, but with Sango at home visiting her family it was the logical place to put him.

"Let's get this over with." Kagome lifted Katsuro and led the group into the hall. The guards proceeded them and followed them down the hall. The Captain met them in front of the dining room, taking Katsuro. Nodding to Kagome, he turned and took Katsuro away to someplace far away from the suspected assassin.

A final deep breath, and one of the guard's was sliding the door open. Tipping her chin up, Kagome walked into the room. 'I am the Lady here, and he will remember that.' Her eyes swept over the males in the room. The taiyoukai were already there, along with the emissary. Cold purple eyes met hers, making her hands tense. She nodded her head to him, then bowed to the rest of the group. "Good evening, my lords." Behind her Rin and Mizuki echoed her before moving to sit.

"Kagome, this is the emissary from the Lord of the East, Hachiro. Hachiro, this is my mate Lady Kagome, my daughter Lady Mizuki, and my ward Lady Rin."

'I've been upgraded to a lady. Wow.' Rin sat down next to emissary without even glancing his way. Her eyes instead found those of the hawk sitting across from her. Merkamou did not seem pleased with the seating arrangement either, but he did give her a small, supportive smile. To her far left Isamu was pointedly ignoring Hachiro, but she did catch him glancing at her. She snapped her attention back to her food, while keeping her senses on the male next to her. If he so much as twitched the wrong way she would take an arm off before he could do anything with the dagger she could see at his waist.

Uncomfortable silence settled on the room.

"It is not often that you would find four taiyoukai, a miko, a hanyou, and a ningen dining together."

Hachiro's sudden comment made Kagome and Rin jump. Blushing slightly at her reaction, Kagome tried to play the hostess. "Hai. It does seem unusual at first, but it seems natural now."

"The taiyoukai belong here, of course, and the miko makes sense in an odd way. The hanyou, that was an unfortunate conclusion from the miko's presence, but what of the ningen?" Hachiro's eyes swept over Rin. "How did you end up at this table?"

'Deep breaths. In and out. Just as the Captain has told me. Rage will get me killed.' Rin forced her body to relax again. "I am Sesshomaru-sama's ward. I have been under his protection since I was just a pup."

"And what purpose do you serve? Do you have a gift or ability that you bring to this house?"

Rin's eyes found the cold, violet gaze next to her. "I do not think it would be appropriate to demonstrate my abilities at the table, my lord."

"So you do not."

There was a soft hiss from across the table. "You would do well to silence yourself."

"Merkamou-sama, you will jump to this female's defense? Perhaps Sesshomaru-sama has had more of an influence on you then I thought." Hachiro sat back to watch the hawk glare.

The tension in the room was making it hard to breathe. Even Mizuki was looking up, her eyes flicking from face to face around the table.

"Watch your mouth, dragon." Merkamou stared the emissary down, forcing the other youkai to look away.

Hachiro refocused on Rin. "You must have some skill that keeps you here. Perhaps your talents are inappropriate to demonstrate with a pup in the room. If so, perhaps you will be able to demonstrate them for me later."

There was a ripple of movement as several hands went to their weapons. Isamu snarled, glaring at Hachiro. "You will apologize to the Lady Rin. Now."

Raising an eyebrow, Hachiro looked Isamu up and down. "This female must be very talented to have so many taiyoukai behaving in this way."

A flash of movement, and Hachiro found himself in the air by his throat. Amber eyes edged in red glared at him, closing off his air supply. "You will be silent, or this Sesshomaru will silence you." Blood was running into the emissary's clothes as Sesshomaru's claws dug into his neck.

Wheezing, Hachiro nodded. He was released, falling to a heap on the ground. Looking up, he noticed Rin's hand on the hilt of a katana, a sliver of steel showing. 'I will see that this female's existence is ended as well.' Staggering to his feet, he bowed and left the room. The guards assigned to him followed him out and made sure that he went directly to his room. An interior room, with no windows and only one way out.

With the threat removed, Rin forced her hands to rest on the table and relax. Shaking out her shoulders, she gave a smile to Mizuki who was staring at her with worry flashing through her eyes. Around her the rest of the table's occupants followed her example and forced their bodies to relax.

"Charming company." Merkamou went back to his tea as though nothing had happened.

Several growls echoed back at the hawk.

"Rin-sama, I do not understand." Mizuki's face gave nothing away, but the faint tremble in her hands spoke volumes to her sister.

"He was insulting me. I'll explain later." Dinner had lost its appeal for Rin. "May I be excused?"

"He will be leaving tomorrow. His insults to you are unforgivable." Sesshomaru's eyes locked with Rin's.

"Arigato, Sesshomaru-sama." Bowing, Rin left the table.

Merkamou gazed after her. "Well, Sesshomaru-sama, shall we go to war?"

"Hn."

"While Sesshomaru-sama would have more than enough reason, I would rather not see this escalate as Ryuutaisho would wish." Hideaki gave his son a last glare. "Leave it, Isamu. She is not yours to defend."

"After such an insult . . ."

"And who was it yelling insults in this room just yesterday? Honestly, Isamu-sama, how was his behavior any different than your own?" Kagome had her arms crossed, setting all of her pent up frustration and rage on the unfortunate cub.

"I insulted her ability to fight, I did not call her a . . ."

"Whoa there, cub. There is a pup present." Merkamou's eyes flicked to Mizuki who was following every word.

"No, you settled for calling her a weakling and my pup disgusting." Kagome's hands were now flat on the table, glowing faintly, as she glared at Isamu.

"And I apologized." Glaring back, Isamu ignored his father who had his arm in a steel grip.

"Kagome-sama, easy." Merkamou recognized his mistake the second the miko's eyes swung to his.

"And you!"

A quiet voice was unheard by any at the table save Sesshomaru. "Father?"

Kagome never saw her mate move, he was just there next to her. "Mizuki. We are leaving."

"Hai, father." Obediently climbing to her feet Mizuki followed Sesshomaru out, as close to him as possible without touching.

"Sesshomaru? Where are you taking Mizuki?"

"Away from this childish display. It is not something this Sesshomaru would subject his daughter to." The door slid shut behind him.

Her mouth hanging open, Kagome stared at the closed door. Everyone left at the table looked as though they had been dunked in ice water.

"Kagome-sama, I did not mean to upset your daughter." Isamu had his eyes on the table. "My behavior has been childish and unacceptable for a lord. I would ask for your forgiveness."

With a heart all out of proportion to her small frame, Kagome softened. "Isamu-sama, you have driven me closer to purifying a youkai then any in the last five years, excluding tonight. However, Rin has forgiven you. I will accept your apology, but you need to make amends with Mizuki. She has never had insults thrown at her like that before. Though she acts much older she is only a pup."

"Understood, Kagome-sama."

"And you." Kagome turned to the hawk, whose eyes widened slightly. "Arigato."

"Huh?" The usually glib taiyoukai was at a loss for words.

"You did try to stop things from getting out of control and reminded us about Mizuki, even if it almost got you fried."

"It was nothing, my lady. After that bastard's behavior an explosion was to be expected."

Kagome sighed and stretched. "What a miserable day. Thank heavens Sesshomaru is throwing that bastard out tomorrow."

"Hai. If it were possible to kill him without declaring war I believe that your mate would have dispatched him already." Hideaki finished his tea and set it aside. "With your permission, Kagome-sama, I would retire for the evening."

"Of course, Hideaki-sama. I apologize for the drama."

"Think nothing of it, Kagome-sama. It was not of your doing. Isamu."

The two leopards bowed before leaving the room.

"Well, trouble maker, what do you think? Assassin?" Kagome dropped her head onto her chin, gazing at her friend.

"I do not think so. His purpose seems to be aggravation. I would expect a true assassin to be in the area and working with him."

"I think you're right." Kagome rubbed the bridge of her nose. "We can throw this viper out tomorrow, but that still leaves an unknown threat running around."

"You have done all you can. Your pups are as well protected as possible. It is unfortunate that they are targets, but you can do nothing about that."

"I know, I know."

"Perhaps you would join me for a drink to help you relax."

"Oh, no! I have not touched that evil stuff since your last visit and I am not having a repeat. My poor, ningen body did not react well."

"I will never understand your race, miko. Throw taiyoukai around like rag dolls, but sake is too dangerous."

"Shut up."

----

Sesshomaru moved swiftly through the halls, but his daughter had little trouble keeping up. Passing the corridor leading to the guest rooms brought the stench of Hachiro to Sesshomaru. A faint growl could be heard from the pup next to him. To his surprise Mizuki was looking towards that door, growling with a hint of fang.

"Mizuki."

"Gomen nasai, father." Her usual mask in place, Mizuki followed Sesshomaru back to her room. To her surprise Sesshomaru stayed with her, shutting the door.

"The reaction was correct, but you must not give so much away." Dropping to sit on a cushion Sesshomaru focused on his daughter. "Do not let your enemies know what you are thinking."

"Hai, father. May I ask a question?"

"Hai."

"Any would be angered after his behavior. Why hide something that any would know?"

"If you always appear unaffected then they will assume you are unaffected. You do not want to be predicted. Do not let them guess your next move by giving away your thoughts or letting emotions rule."

"How does mother avoid being predicted? We always know what she is feeling." Mizuki sat across from her father, carefully imitating his calm posture.

A hint of a smile formed on Sesshomaru's face. "Your mother is naturally so unpredictable that it does not matter. You, however, resemble myself. Give your opponents no advantage. Show no reaction and no hint as to your thoughts. Let them be the ones to give their intentions away."

"I do not want to hide from mother or Rin. Can they know what I am thinking and feeling?"

"Mizuki, I do not believe that either of us could hide from your mother. Choose carefully who you will show your thoughts too, but Rin is a wise choice."

"And you, father?"

"That is your choice."

"Then I will show you my thoughts."

Uncertain, Mizuki hesitated before scooting over to sit next to her father, resting her head lightly against his arm. The arm shifted as he moved so that she was resting against his side in a light hold. Mizuki relaxed with a sigh, closing her eyes. _Safe._

Kagome found her mate dozing lightly on the floor of her daughter's room with Mizuki sound asleep beside him. The resemblance was uncanny when they both had their eyes shut. She was resting so lightly against his side, and his arm barely encircled her. Neither was comfortable with being close to another, but for the moment they were content. Kagome cuddled Katsuro closer, savoring the sight.

Amber eyes cracked open to meet Kagome's cobalt. Careful to not wake his pup Sesshomaru lifted Mizuki and carried her to Rin's room.

Rin was sitting in bed, writing furiously in a small book Kagome had given her.

_How dare he? That jack ass! I should have slashed his throat right there and to hell with starting a war. What do I need to do to prove my worth? Everyone just dismisses me out of hand. Sure, I can't beat a taiyoukai by myself, but who can? Not that bastard, I'm sure of that. I would just love for him to take a wrong step. I'll be waiting for him with both blades out._

Hearing a knock at her door broke Rin away from her rant. 'Kagome-chan has a good idea with this diary thing. It is nice to get stuff off of my chest.' Tucking the little book under a pillow Rin called to the door. "Come in."

Sesshomaru carried a sleeping Mizuki in and set her on the spare bed set up in Rin's room. Rin hopped up and went to check on her sister. "Long night for her. Poor thing. First Isamu, then Hachiro."

Kagome was leaning on the door frame, holding Katsuro. "Isamu will be making amends to her tomorrow."

"Good. Otherwise I was going to pound them out of him."

"And what about you?"

"Nani?"

"The attack tonight was on you, not Mizuki."

"I can take it. I know that he was trying to start a fight and that none of it was true. How could any of that be true? I have never even kissed someone, much less what he was implying, and anyone . . . "

"Rin."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama." Blushing furiously at the conversation she had started with her hero in the room Rin pulled a blanket over her sister. "I'll take care of her."

Sesshomaru gave a slight nod of his head and left for his own room.

"Rin-chan. Really, are you okay?"

With a sigh Rin flopped on her bed. "The idea is so ridiculous that it's almost funny." The teenager beckoned for the now awake Katsuro to play with. "Nobody would believe that rumor, even the one's who hate me. But having it said to my face, it was shocking."

"I couldn't believe it myself." Kagome settled on the bed with Rin. "I thought Sesshomaru was going to kill him. He felt like he was about to lose control."

"I was surprised."

"Why? You had been insulted in a very nasty way."

"I would expect that response when someone insults you, not me."

"One day you will figure out how much you mean to him." Stealing her pup back Kagome walked back to the door. "Get some rest, Rin-chan. Even after we throw this one out there is probably a partner."

"Hai, Kagome-chan. Sleep well."

"Good night, Rin-chan."

Nodding to the two guards at the door Kagome left for her own room.

'Sleep sounds like a good idea. If only my mind would go to sleep.' Rin dragged her diary back out, much calmer now then she had been.

_I'll admit that it felt good to have everyone jump to my defense. Even Merkamou and Isamu went for a weapon. Hideaki had his hands hidden, so I don't know what he was up to. I'll probably never know. Isamu looked really mad. I guess he took our truce to heart. Mizuki will never let that one go. What is that pup thinking, anyways? Isamu does not have a crush on me. How could he? Impossible._

'I better put this away or I will never get to sleep.' Tucking her book away Rin blew out the lamps. "Good night, Mizuki."

"Good night, Rin-neechan."

"Hey, how long have you been awake?"

"Since father brought me in here. I think Katsuro woke me up." Sapphire eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. "Are you really okay, Rin-neechan?"

"I'm fine, pup. I just wish I could make that bastard pay. Don't tell Kagome-chan I said that."

"I wish I could help, Rin-neechan. He should pay for what he said." There was a small growl in Mizuki's words.

"Figured out what he meant, huh?"

"Pretty easy after you talked to Mama."

'Ugh, of course she was awake for that.' "He leaves tomorrow and we will never have to deal with him again."

"Good."

"Sleep, pup."

"Fine. Good night, Rin-neechan."

"Good night, Mizuki-chan."


	36. Dragon

A/N: If anyone ever suggests driving from Boston to Eau Claire, WI to you, smack them and check for mental problems. Honestly. Brace yourselves, I have never attempted something quite like this before, and it is going to be a bumpy ride. Remain seated while the ride is in motion, keep your arms inside of the car at all times, etc. I am still broke and own nothing of interest.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Should we try to wake them?"

"You first."

"No way. You're bigger then me, you go first."

"Uh uh. You're faster, so you go."

The two sisters fidgeted outside the door. "We could both go in." Mizuki had no interest in going into the lion's den alone.

"Or we could let them sleep."

"You know they would not want us to go to breakfast alone, Rin-neechan. We need to wake them up."

"Well, I'm not doing it." Rin stuck her nose up in the air. "I'm the big sister and I say you have to."

"No fair!"

"As if anyone could sleep through this." Kagome slid the door open, fully dressed and ready to face the day. Behind her the girls could see Sesshomaru staring at them.

"Good morning, Sesshomaru-sama and Kagome-chan." "Good morning, father and mother."

Kagome smiled. "Should we go down to breakfast?"

"Hai, Mama." Mizuki moved out of the way so Kagome and Sesshomaru could lead the way down to breakfast. Katsuro was in Kagome's arms. The Captain was waiting to take the heir until after the meal when we would be presented to Hachiro. Then the dragon was to be thrown out.

Rin forced her body to relax and gave her sister a smile. Mizuki already had her mask on, her face and body giving little away. The family left the guards waiting in the hall and went into the dining room together, a united front against the threat that waited for them.

Wishing for some of her sister's icy demeanor Rin dropped to her seat. 'Breathe in, breathe out. He means nothing.'

Silence ruled as the group ate. Isamu managed to keep his attention on his food, but Merkamou gave Hachiro a few choice looks.

"Will I have the pleasure of seeing your heir today, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Hai."

Kagome tried to keep from giggling at Hachiro's aggravated expression. The emissary's eyes pivoted to hers. "Is there something amusing, Kagome-sama?"

The temperature in the room dropped as everyone froze. If Hachiro insulted Sesshomaru's mate his death was all but assured. Kagome set down her chopsticks slowly, that eerie glow forming around her. Mizuki shifted slightly when she felt the pins and needles sensation across her skin.

"Nothing at all, Hachiro."

The two gazes were locked in a battle of wills, but it was the dragon that looked away. The air began to move again as Kagome returned to her meal as though nothing had happened.

There were no more interruptions to the meal. Kagome met the Captain and her guards in the reception hall, taking Katsuro back as Hachiro came into the hall. Sesshomaru stood next to her, warning the dragon away. Even Rin was there, across the room near the Captain with Mizuki.

"Hachiro, this is my son Katsuro."

"He has amazing eyes, my lord." Hachiro moved as though he would come closer, but two growls from the parents stopped him. "You must be very proud. A pity."

There was a swift movement, a flash and an explosion. Kagome threw up a barrier, holding Katsuro close as white smoke filled the room outside of her barrier. "Poison, Sesshomaru."

Eyes flashing, Sesshomaru lifted the two. Hachiro had already disappeared into the smoke. Seeing Rin and Mizuki starting to cough Sesshomaru yelled, "Rin, Mizuki, out!"

Rin grabbed Mizuki's wrist and dragged the pup out, wishing for her poison mask.

"Kagome, drop the barrier so I can get you both out."

The pink glow disappeared, letting Sesshomaru race through the room and down the corridor. The poison did not seem to affect the inu-youkai, but Kagome and Katsuro were gasping for air. Turning into his study Sesshomaru set his mate down, staring into her eyes.

"Kagome. Kagome!"

----

'You would think that a library of this size would have something of interest to read. Perhaps I should send something from my own library for the merlin and Mizuki to enjoy. 'Accounts of Council Deliberations'? Bah.' Merkamou paced the library. 'Even a study of tactics would be interesting.'

A faint explosion caught his attention, just loud enough to hear. 'Now what?' Tearing through the palace towards the sound brought Merkamou right to the Captain. "What is it, Captain?"

"A poison bomb while Katsuro was being presented. Sesshomaru took the miko and Katsuro that way. We are hunting the bastard down, he is somewhere in the palace."

"Where are Mizuki and the merlin?"

"They ran out with the guard to get away from the poison."

Merkamou pushed past the Captain to run into Sesshomaru's study. Inside Sesshomaru had Kagome speaking again. Sensing a presence behind him the taiyoukai turned and snarled at Merkamou. Recognition took hold and the snarl faded. Glancing at his mate, he looked back at the taiyoukai, locking eyes with him. A low growl escaped Sesshomaru, challenging the hawk. Merkamou let out a soft hiss, keeping his gaze steady. A sharp nod, and the inu-youkai snapped his attention to the Captain standing in the door way. "Where?"

"In the palace somewhere."

"Find him."

Explosions were coming from outside. "Now what?" Merkamou went to the window, trying to see the new source of chaos. Soon after the explosions a pair of sharp screams sent both of the taiyoukai's heads up.

"Mizuki."

"Merlin."

----

"Rin! What about Mama and Katsuro?"

"Sesshomaru-sama has them. We need to get out of this poison." Surrounded by guards the two rushed through the courtyard and into the fresh air of the gardens, wheezing. "That was low, a poison bomb in a room with pups. Are you okay, Mizuki-chan?"

"Hai, but my chest hurts."

"Mine, too." Rin straightened up slowly, looking around. Her life amongst the youkai and Sango's training kicked in. Someone was watching. They had just run right into a trap.

"Rin-chan, what is it?"

"Stay behind me, Mizuki. There is someone watching."

"Very good, for a ningen."

Sitting on the wall to the courtyard was a youkai. Rin was certain that he had not been there before. Keeping Mizuki behind her she backed away, letting the guards move to the front. "Identify yourself."

"That would be a waste of time, since you will be dead so very soon." The youkai was still advancing, his eyes on Rin's. He radiated controlled power. Dressed all in black, he had his hair tied back to show his face. A slash of purple ran diagonally across his face.

'Oh, Kami, it's a taiyoukai. It's a dragon taiyoukai. Oh Kami.'

The dragon had reached her guards. "Do not waste your lives for a hanyou. Leave now and live. Even you, ningen." When none moved he gave a small shrug. "It is your death."

He slashed with his talons, disemboweling a guard while the others attacked him as one.

Drawing both katanas Rin looked for an escape. She would never make it to the palace, not even Mizuki would be fast enough for that. She knew she could not beat this one, but she had to get Mizuki out of there.

'Of course.' Tightening her grip on her katanas Rin steeled herself to buy time and let out a shrill whistle.

"I am not sure what you are doing, ningen, but you should move." Blood was running down his hands as the dragon slashed his way through the attacking guards.

"Never. Stay away from my sister, you bastard!"

"Sister? Ningen, you are confused. She smells nothing like you."

"She is my sister and I will kill you before you set a hand on her."

"So be it." Dropping the last of the guards the taiyoukai charged.

Talons were ringing off of steel as Rin fought desperately. She needed more time! She landed a blow to his arm, adding a wet stain to his black clothing.

The dragon snarled and landed a blow in return, opening up Rin's side and knocking her to her knees. Rushing past her to the pup he swung at Mizuki with his talons.

Mizuki darted away, surprising the dragon with her speed and slashed at him with her own little claws. The dragon snatched his arm back, the cuts bubbling and smoking. 'The damn pup is poisonous.'

Twin katanas were slammed through his chest, reminding him of the stubborn ningen behind him. Snatching the katanas free, Rin took a swing for his head, but he was no longer there. He was behind her with his talons buried in her arms. "Not bad at all, for a ningen."

An explosion sent both sprawling to the ground. Ah-Un circled and dove again, firing at the youkai that was attacking his rider. Rin kicked free, sheathed her katanas, and ran to Mizuki. She picked up the pup by her waist as Ah-Un dived again.

Rin had practiced this maneuver at least a hundred times with Sango. Ah-Un barely slowed as Rin grabbed his mane and hauled herself onto his back. He laid down covering fire as the sisters struggled to find their balance bareback while the dragon streaked into the sky.

Glancing behind her, Rin saw the now injured taiyoukai starting to transform. Mizuki followed her stare and saw the same thing. As the taiyoukai dragon took flight Ah-Un dived, pulling twin screeches from the two riders.

----

Isamu bolted through the palace, almost slamming into his father when they met at a junction. "What the hell is going on?"

"The emissary attacked Katsuro and the miko, and now there is a second attacker outside." Hideaki was tying his hair back as he spoke, his blade now at his waist. "We are guests here, we must assist. The first attacker is still hiding in the palace somewhere."

"Hai." The two leopards split up to track the hidden attacker. Hideaki moved towards the room where the emissary was staying while Isamu moved towards the reception hall to meet up with the other search parties and see what they had found.

Before he could reach the reception hall he saw movement, a figure going through a door. On silent feet he stalked forward, easing to the door. Inside he could see the emissary. Hachiro dropped something and bolted back out the door. Isamu tackled him from behind, slamming him to the floor.

"Let me go, you fool, or we will both be killed!"

"What have you done?" Isamu slammed the dragon's head into the floor. "Answer me!"

"It is a poison bomb, a big one. Get me out of here!"

Isamu stared in horror before dragging the youkai to his feet. "Everybody out! Out now before this bomb goes!"

Guards scrambled to evacuate. His father was running down the hall. Hideaki exchanged a few words with the Captain, then both went into Sesshomaru's study. Isamu dragged his captive out of the palace, joining the guards in the courtyard. He could see two dragons streaking across the sky. The smaller dragon had two familiar figures on it, but they were losing ground to the larger dragon quickly. Snarling, he slammed the emissary against the ground. "If they die, I will personally send you screaming to Hell."

----

Sesshomaru and Merkamou looked at the ceiling, knowing that Rin was above them. His mate and son were here, but two of his pups were there.

The dilemma was solved when Merkamou flashed and streaked away, soaring out the window. Shouts were filling the palace as the Captain and Hideaki bolted into the study. "We have to get out now! There is another bomb!"

"What the hell?" Kagome was on her feet, clutching her pup. She found herself back in her mate's grip and crashing through the formerly closed window. Running across the grounds, Sesshomaru put distance between his mate and the new threat, which had just exploded. A black cloud was seeping through the windows.

"Isamu has Hachiro. He is on the other side of the palace." Hideaki's eyes went to the sky. "Kami, what is that?"

All eyes went up to the sky where Ah-Un was being hunted down by a large dragon. Behind the dragon was a flash of flame.

----

"Down!" Without a bridle Rin had to resort to verbal commands to control Ah-Un. The dragon dived down into the trees, desperately trying to lose his pursuer. The taiyoukai roared, a black cloud escaping. The cloud killed the trees that it drifted over, leaving a chocking stench. "Up, Ah-Un!"

There was a new scream, that of an attacking hawk. Daring to look behind her, Rin saw a giant red hawk dive at the dragon and slam into its back, digging in its talons. "Merkamou-sama!" She watched as the dragon dropped a short distance before recovering and throwing its head back to strike at the hawk. Releasing its prey, the hawk dived away before circling back with another scream. Flames erupted from its beak, surrounding the dragon. Roaring, the dragon turned away from Ah-Un to focus on this new attacker.

Dodging the black clouds that the dragon was spewing, Merkamou swept in to drag his talons across the dragon's hide, leaving a long line of gashes. A glancing blow from the tail opened a bleeding wound across Merkamou's side, sending him into a dive that he had to struggle to get out of. Another blast of flame from the hawk drove the dragon back again.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Kagome-chan!" Diving down, Rin brought Ah-Un to the group that she could now see outside of the palace. "Take Mizuki!"

"I am not leaving you, Rin-chan!" Mizuki fought, but was unceremoniously dumped into her father's arms. "Rin-chan, you get back her!"

Sending Ah-Un back into the sky, Rin drew one of her katanas. She would not leave Merkamou to deal with this fight alone.

Sesshomaru handed the squirming pup to his mate, moving away. His youki cloud was too slow for the combat that was taking place above him. Snarling, Sesshomaru's face began to twist as power surged around him. A giant white dog stood in the grass, snarling with poison dripping down to burn holes in the ground. The fight was still too high up for him, but as soon as Merkamou could bring the dragon down low enough Sesshomaru would finish the assassin himself.

'Sesshomaru-sama cannot help as long as that dragon is so high in the air.' Rin looked the dragon over. 'He will need to be badly wounded to come down.'

'Or blind.'

A new plan formed in her mind as she wheeled Ah-Un to face the on coming dragon. "I hope this is a good idea, Ah-Un." The dragon let out twin roars as he charged the taiyoukai, blasting away at his adversary.

The dragon continued his charge, looking for all the world as though he was going to slam into the taiyoukai. Rin drew her second katana and tensed, waiting for the perfect moment. As Ah-Un swerved up to avoid slamming into his opponent Rin leapt, digging a blade into the taiyoukai to stop her momentum. The dragon roared and threw his head, forcing Rin to use all of her strength to hang on. There was a rush of wind, and then an impact rippled through the dragon. Merkamou had his talons dug into the dragon again, his beak ripping into the tough hide and aiming for the spine. The dragon dropped closer to the ground as he writhed against both attackers.

Rin took the moment of relative peace that Merkamou had bought for her and slammed her katanas into the dragon's eyes, blinding him. A shriek echoed across the lands as the dragon bolted. Rin struggled to pull her blades free of the now out of control taiyoukai. The blood of the dragon was burning her skin, the fumes from his breath making her vision gray out. Pulling her second blade free she crossed her blades and slammed them into the top of his head, pinning the jaws shut. She felt the world spin and tip, then saw nothing.

The hawk saw Rin fall from the dragon. He released his prey and dove, desperate to reach her before she hit the ground. Sweeping under her limp form he felt her land on his back. The dragon was soaring after him, following the scent of his own blood. Poison was working through the hawk's body and slowing him, allowing the blind dragon to gain on him.

"Hiraikotsu!"

A flash of movement, and a large object took a huge chunk out of the dragon, then took another swipe on its return. It flew to its owner, clinging to the mane of a neko-youkai. Kirara roared at the dragon, slamming into the dragon's back and shoving him down lower. Circling, Kirara struck again, shoving the dragon just that last bit lower.

Sesshomaru leapt, slamming into the side of the dragon and bringing it down. Poison burned like acid into the dragon taiyoukai's hide as Sesshomaru ripped into his opponent. The dragon lashed out with its claws, trying to lock onto this new attacker. Still deadly, the dragon and the dog twisted and writhed. Claws racked down Sesshomaru's side as the inu-youkai got his fangs into the dragon's throat. Dragons are notoriously hard to kill, and this one was proving to be no different. Even as Sesshomaru collapsed his throat the taiyoukai struggled against him, digging in claws. Poison was moving through the dragon's blood stream, slowing his struggles. The bites and cuts were bubbling as the flesh was eaten away.

Slowly, the dragon ceased its struggles. With a final swipe of his claws, Sesshomaru was able to remove the head and ensure that this taiyoukai was dead. Backing away, he watched the corpse for any signs of life. Seeing none, he turned to return to his pack.

----

Kagome had a barrier up around herself, her pups, and an unconscious Rin. Hideaki was on guard as the Captain searched for the healer. Merkamou was on his knees, eyes glazed over as he held a hand over one of the gashes he had received. The hawk did not have Sesshomaru's resistance to poison and was feeling the effects of the extended contact. A short distance away Isamu had the emissary on the ground, a sword through the dragon's shoulder to pin him down. The palace occupants were milling about everywhere in mass confusion from the attack.

Kagome turned her attention to the emissary that was screaming in pain from the sword in his shoulder. Leaving her pups inside of the barrier she stormed to her enemy. Isamu backed away, leaving Hachiro to the miko. She glared down at him, a low growl in her voice. "Who ordered this?"

"You know that I will never speak."

Kagome grabbed the sword and twisted it in the emissary's shoulder. Screaming, the emissary flailed.

"Speak."

"You are too weak, miko."

The sword began to glow and smoke rose from the emissary's shoulder.

"Ryuutaisho ordered the attempt. The assassin was one of his sons."

Grimacing, Kagome released the sword, staring at the creature that had attacked her pups. "Hachiro. Please give Ryuutaisho a message for me. Tell him that he should have never tried to touch my pups. He will be joining you in Hell shortly." Kagome grabbed onto the sword with both hands and purified him, making him scream before turning into a pile of ash. Her eyes fluttered as she sagged slightly, making Isamu catch her. "Ugh, forgot about that barrier. It's hard to do both at the same time."

Transforming back to his other form, Sesshomaru gritted his teeth against the pain from his injuries. 'Later. I will feel pain later.'

Seeing his mate sagging against Isamu sent him flying to her side, snarling at the leopard. Isamu was so startled he almost dropped Kagome. Grabbing onto Sesshomaru's haori Kagome forced him to return to calm. "Leave Isamu alone. He caught me when I over did it. Don't worry, the Captain has already left for the healer."

The first priority for the inu-youkai was to assure that his family was unharmed. Mizuki had some bruises and cuts, but Rin was the only serious injury. She had burns and cuts across her body and was unconscious from the poison. Merkamou was wheezing slightly as his body dealt with the poison that he had been exposed to. He watched as the Captain and the healer moved out of the chaos around the palace and ran to Kagome's barrier.

"The healer is here now, you will need to drop the barrier." Sesshomaru held his mate up.

With a sigh of relief Kagome dropped her barrier. The Captain lifted the squalling Katsuro, letting the pup grab onto his escaping hair to keep him quiet. The healer gave a sketch of a bow before setting to work. "My lord, the palace is mass chaos. Most of the occupants were able to get out in time, but there were some losses." The healer looked over Merkamou briefly, forcing the taiyoukai's head up so that he could examine his eyes. Then he turned to Rin with a much more concerned look on his face.

"Both of them need to be moved somewhere safe. They have both been poisoned and I will need to keep them alive long enough for their bodies to recover. The ningen will need an antidote, but Merkamou-sama will only need care. His body will take care of the poison." The healer checked Rin's pulse and breathing. "I have something that will work, but I will need to get into the palace to retrieve it."

"I can get it." Kirara landed next to the healer, letting Sango slide off. Her voice was raspy behind her poison mask, but Kagome had never been so happy to see her. "I have been looking for any sign of more attackers, but I cannot find any. If the healer will tell me where to find the antidote I can bring it out here to him."

"This is the way to my quarters. Inside you will find a chest . . ." The healer darted across the grounds with Sango on his heels.

"Stay with me, Rin." Kagome was kneeling next to Rin, the girl's hand between her own. "Don't even think about going anywhere." The Captain was openly anxious, alternating between searching for threats and watching over his protégé.

"Mama, will Rin-neechan be okay?" Mizuki knelt next to Rin, touching her sister's cheek. "She feels cold."

"The healer will take care of her, Mizuki-chan." The miko worried her bottom lip with her teeth. 'He better take care of her.' "Captain, is there anywhere safe we can move them?"

"Nowhere in the palace, at least not until we can get the mess cleaned up. We can move them to the stables for now." The Captain handed Katsuro back to Kagome and lifted Rin.

Hideaki knelt down beside Merkamou. "Merkamou, will you be able to walk if I assist?"

Nodding, Merkamou stumbled to his feet and leaned on Hideaki. "I have had better ideas then biting a dragon repeatedly."

"Do you think so?" Shaking his head Hideaki hauled the hawk towards the stable. "I would have expected such behavior from my son."

Glaring at the older taiyoukai, Merkamou continued to drag himself after the Captain. Seeing Rin still unconscious made his heart skip a beat. "The merlin?"

"Merlin? Oh, you mean Rin-san. The healer is fetching an antidote for her. She was poisoned while she was blinding the dragon."

"She was foolish to attack like that."

"Hai. Just as foolish as another I could mention. What possessed you to lock on like that? Why not continue to attack from a distance or hit and fade?"

"And incinerate the merlin? I think not. The dragon would have killed her if I did not stay on him."

"A very effective pair of fools. You did not leave much work for Sesshomaru."

The stables were blessedly quiet, leaving the chaos at the palace. Kagome threw some blankets on the straw so that Rin and Merkamou could be set down.

"Next time he can blind the dragon and the merlin and I will finish him off." Laying back Merkamou set a hand on his forehead. "Damn dragon. I do not much care for being poisoned."

The healer returned, clutching a vial. Lifting up Rin he tipped the contents into her mouth, making her sputter and cough. "Oh, yes, it is nasty, but it will keep you alive."

Still unconscious, Rin offered no protest as Kagome and the healer checked her injuries. Hideaki and Sesshomaru had returned to the palace to regain order, leaving the Captain, Sango, and Isamu on guard. Mizuki held her brother in her lap and watched over Rin.

"Every time I turn around I am fixing burns on this one." The healer cut cloth away to reveal a set of gashes across Rin's side. Settling in to stitch the worst of it, the inu-youkai scowled at the damage. "These will scar, unfortunately. I will be able to prevent most of the other's from scaring, but this one is too deep."

"Scars are not the end of the world. She'll be alive, that's what counts." Kagome worked to clean the dragon's blood off of Rin as the healer continued to work. When he was finished he turned his attention to Merkamou.

"Well, my lord, let us see how you fared." The gash on Merkamou's side was still oozing blood and needed to be bandaged. "Aside from the poison you are in better shape then the last time I saw you."

"Sesshomaru-sama is far more through then any dragon." The world was moving about in unusual ways, forcing Merkamou to close his eyes.

"Next time you will think twice before biting a dragon like that."

The hawk hissed and clicked his teeth in threat. Wisely, the healer let it go. Even a poisoned taiyoukai was not someone that you wanted to upset.

After cleaning and bandaging the taiyoukai the healer returned to Rin. "Her color is better, and her breathing has improved. She will not wake for some time though." The healer inspected the bandages that Kagome had put on and nodded his approval.

"She will wake, though. Correct?" Mizuki was sitting in the straw close to Rin.

"Oh, hai. She is far too stubborn to let a little thing like a dragon stop her." The healer gathered his supplies. "I must return to the palace, there will be other injuries."

"Go ahead. I'll stay here." Kagome pulled another blanket over Rin. Ah-Un was hanging his heads over the partition, watching his rider.

"I'll take care of Ah-Un." Mizuki set Katsuro with her mother and went to clean up the two headed dragon. He had some small cuts, but his hide was too tough for the poison to eat through. Careful to avoid burning herself, Mizuki spent an hour cleaning Ah-Un while her mother kept watch over Rin and Merkamou. Sango came to sit with Kagome, Kirara perched on her shoulder.

"Looks like I got your message just in time."

"Sango-chan, I am so glad you are here. What a mess."

"Hai." Sango's eyes trailed over the two resting figures before looking out the doorway towards the palace. "Two assassins. All of this from just two."

"And this is just the beginning."

----

Every window and door was open, trying to get the poison out of the palace. The dead and injured had been dragged out and were now being dealt with by the healer. Kumo had the servants in hand now, organizing them to help with the palace or set up for the night. The poison was not a long lasting one. The healer believed that the palace would be safe that night, but they would wait until the next morning to be sure.

Kagome had already seen to Sesshomaru's injuries, cleaning and bandaging the worst of them. He allowed it, even though most of them would be gone within a day. He had learned that it was easier to just allow her to care for him. Otherwise she would be tempted to do drastic things.

"Sesshomaru."

"Hai."

"You know what this means."

Sesshomaru looked over to the ice blue eyes of Hideaki. He nodded once before looking back to the clean up.

A soft, weary sigh escaped Hideaki. "War."

"Hai."


	37. Perfectly Normal

A/N: Well, I will say that I am just flattered by the reviews. I do enjoy my fits of violence. Of course, that leaves me with no way to top it. Oh well. I was surprised to find so many that were against this war thing. Ah well, too late now. I'm going to try and get Mirokou in here, and Sango's brood, but I have so many characters bouncing around right now that they all need to take turns! Sit! Stay! None of them listen to me anyways. And yes, I will indulge in some appearances from our various favorites, but be patient! I'm working on Ch. 18, and I just blew my outline out the window, so this story is going to be kind of long. Still no guarantee on the outcome, just because I'm a wench. 

---

Isamu poked his head into the stables, checking on the sleeping occupants. While the youkai would be fine missing a few nights of sleep the same could not be said of the ningens. Or Merkamou, for that matter. The hawk had not moved since he had been set down.

But he has certainly made a racket. Kami, I thought Kagome was going to smother him when he started snoring.'

The miko was curled up under a blanket with her pups. Rin was still unconscious in the straw near Merkamou. Isamu saw Rin shiver and felt his brows lower in concern. Rumaging through the supplies dragged from the palace by that exterminator sleeping by Kagome, he found another blanket for the shivering female. He knelt down to throw it over her.

She seems small and fragile now. How could this be the same creature who took on that dragon?' Isamu settled next to Rin with his back to the wall. Odd creature. She could have just waited for the others to deal with him. Instead she flung herself into the fray. She blinded him and disabled him, but almost got herself killed.'

"Isamu? Where are we?"

Chocolate eyes were blinking at him in confusion.

"We are in the stables. There was a second poison bomb so we can not go into the palace until tomorrow."

"Oh." Rin looked around and saw her family sleeping nearby. "And the dragon?"

"Dead at Sesshomaru-sama's claws."

"So they are safe. Thank Kami." Under the pile of blankets Rin eased onto her side, her body protesting every movement. "What are you doing up?"

"I am watching over you and Merkamou-sama so that Kagome-sama could sleep. Besides, who could sleep through that?"

A particularly loud and grating snore roared out of Merkamou, bringing a small smile to Rin. "Wow, and I thought he was loud when he was awake. No wonder he has not found a mate." Realizing what her still befuddled brain had produced about the Lord of the Southern Lands brought a brilliant blush to Rin's cheeks. She tucked the blankets up to her nose, wishing she could sink into the floor.

A small snort of laughter came from Isamu. "Nonsense, I have heard my own father put that to shame. Can I assume that Sesshomaru-sama is as perfect and silent in sleep as he is awake?"

"Sesshomaru-sama does not snore." Rin gave Isamu a scandalized expression from over the edge of her blanket.

"Somehow I am not surprised."

The silence between them was comfortable as Rin slowly let her face emerge from her blankets. "Is everybody okay?"

"There were some loses in the palace, but it was not as bad as it could have been. The dragon did not manage to kill anyone. Kagome-sama dispatched the emissary herself."

There was movement under the blanket as Rin ran her hands over her battered body. "Every inch of my body hurts."

A soft chuckle rumbled from Isamu. "Are you surprised? And here I thought you were an intelligent creature."

Growling, Rin wished desperately to smack the leopard. "You know that you will pay for that later."

"Hai, but how often will I have the opportunity to speak my mind without fear of you causing me harm? I will enjoy the opportunity while I have it."

Envisioning the things she would do to her companion once she was able to move again brought a smile to Rin's face. Perhaps I will require something of him. I would love to see his hair in braids with flowers weaved in. Pink ones.'

That is not a comforting sight.' The injured warrior was smiling at him with evil delight. "What are you envisioning, Rin?"

"You would look very pretty with flowers in your hair."

"Nani?"

Smothering a giggle made Rin's arm spike with pain, reminding her to not move. "Ugh. It seems that you will be safe for a time. Damn ningen body."

It sounded odd to Isamu's ears to hear her curse her own ningen body that way. "It did seem to serve its purpose today."

"And fell from the sky like a rock. How did I even survive that?"

"Merkamou-sama caught you."

Dark eyes tracked over to the noisily sleeping form. "Of course. I should have known. He will be up and about tomorrow, and I will be recovering for days. I do need to learn to stay out of the way."

Isamu was at a loss. While he agreed with the view of her body as weak, he could not imagine Rin sitting to the side and letting someone else get hurt. "Maybe you can find ways to make your body withstand the damage done to it."

"Maybe. I would be in much better shape if I had been carrying my poison mask with me when I jumped on that dragon."

"Why did you not have it with you?"

Glaring, Rin gave him a classically female look of annoyance. "Oh, yes, it would have gone with my outfit so well. Every lady carries a poison mask with her to breakfast."

"You carry those damn swords of yours with you everywhere. What is the difference?"

"I get enough odd looks as it is, thank you. Nobody thinks that Sesshomaru-sama's ward should act the way I do, or know what end of a sword to grab onto. The ningen female should quietly sit down and stay out of the way."

"You don't need to be a lady. There are plenty of normal females that can take your place as decoration."

That's it! I don't care how much this is going to hurt!' Rin gave one of Isamu's legs a sharp poke despite her own aches. "I am a normal female!"

"Sure you are. Every female I meet kicks me in the head hard enough to lay me out flat in the grass."

"You deserved it." Grumbling, Rin shifted again. Not very comfortable. I wish I had a pillow.'

"This is my point. That is not normal. If you were normal, you would be happy to be a lady. Instead you should be a fighter."

"Why can I not be both?"

"I am sure you could, sometimes. But most people will not see you as a lady once they see the fighter. Which would you rather be, an admired lady of the court of an exterminator?"

Sigh. He's got me now. I'm too tired to argue anymore anyways. I can see something that is very pillow like, and its right there. Can I get away with this?' Rin closed her eyes. "Exterminator, of course."

"I am certain that the exterminator over there has her weapons with her. All of them. I would guess that she is always ready to jump into battle without worrying about her appearance in front of others."

"Hai." Not normal. Perhaps that is the real reason that I have not had any luck with finding someone. And my head hurts. He owes me. It's not like he is Sesshomaru-sama or Merkamou-sama. I am just too tired and sore to care.'

Carefully shifting her aching body, Rin set her head on Isamu's leg. "Much better."

Ack! What is she doing!' Isamu froze, staring at the content expression on Rin's face. Has she lost her mind? What do I do now? I can not just dump her on the ground. She would kill me. Do I just stay here? It is official, this ningen is insane!'

Sleep was plucking at Rin's mind again, dragging her down. "No moving or I will pound you when I feel better."

One by one the trapped lord forced his muscles to relax. It was not that bad, really. She did not snore, and seemed to be quite content and still now. She looked very different when she was asleep. Innocent.

Only an innocent would think nothing of using a male's leg as a pillow. Crazed creature.' Idle fingers played with a stray lock of midnight hair laying across his lap. I can watch over them just as well from here.'

----

Blessed silence was Isamu's first hint that Merkamou was waking up. The gold eyes opened, then focused. Slow, careful movements got the hawk into a sitting position, one hand going to the bandages at his side. A grimace and the faint smell of blood revealed that he was not fully healed yet.

The eyes locked on Isamu's before flicking down to find Rin sleeping, curled up beside him with her head on his leg. The hawk's eyes narrowed, his hands tensing at the intimate position. Isamu refused to look away. I have done nothing wrong. I will not look away like a guilty cub caught stealing.'

"Cub, what are you doing?" The voice was soft, quieter then the ningens could hear, but perfectly clear to Isamu in the silent stables.

"This was not my doing, Merkamou-sama."

"Really. The unconscious merlin dragged you over and threw herself on you?"

"I was sitting near her to talk to her last night after she woke up. She decided, of her own accord, that I would substitute for a pillow. I was also informed that any movement on my part would not be tolerated."

"She may be too innocent to realize what she is doing, but you are not. You should have stopped her or moved her."

"She has done nothing wrong. She is not your concern anyways, Merkamou-sama."

"She is not yours, either."

"I never said she was. The only one that has any say in her behavior is Sesshomaru-sama."

"Hn."

Oh, shit.' Isamu carefully turned his head to focus on the inu-youkai in the doorway. "Good morning, Sesshomaru-sama."

"What are you doing with my ward?"

"Nothing. Nothing, my lord." Isamu tried to move Rin's head off of his leg, but she muttered and grabbed onto his hakama with one hand. "Rin-sama, please let go. Now."

"Told you hold still." The eyes never opened and Isamu had the impression that she was not awake. Struggling with an injured, dreaming ningen in front of two, no, scratch that, three taiyoukai was not how Isamu wanted to start his day. His father was now watching from next to Sesshomaru, looking almost amused by the whole business.

Desperation made Isamu lean down and hiss in Rin's ear. "Let go, you crazed female!"

The hand let go to swing wildly. "Shut up, Isamu."

Freed from his prison Isamu jumped to his feet, trying to look like nothing had happened as he brushed straw from his clothing. Looking up he found amber eyes much closer to his then he thought was safe.

"How did you find yourself in that position, Isamu?"

I would very much like to point at Rin and yell She did it!' but I don't think that will qualify as an acceptable answer.' Desperately fighting the urge to look down and scuff his feet, Isamu kept his eyes on Sesshomaru. "She woke up last night and we were talking. I was sitting next to her and she commandeered my leg as a pillow.

The sound of knuckles cracking filled the silence.

"Sesshomaru-sama, I am tempted to believe my son. How an injured, exhausted ningen could commandeer anything is still a mystery, but it does seem innocent enough."

"She threatened me!"

"And now you are being threatened again." Sesshomaru moved closer. "Do not bring dishonor to my ward."

"Hai, my lord."

Sesshomaru glanced at his sleeping ward, then stalked out of the room.

Hideaki gestured for his son to come with him, and Isamu followed him out. Merkamou dropped back to his make shift bed, forcing his temper back under control.

Careful of her numerous injuries, Rin pushed her blankets back. What was that all about? Sesshomaru-sama was not happy.'

_Do not_ _bring_ _dishonor_ _to_ _my ward_.

"Merkamou-sama." Rin hissed at the hawk, trying not to wake her sleeping family.

"Hai, merlin."

"What was that all about, my lord?"

"I do not believe Sesshomaru-sama was pleased with the position he found Isamu in this morning."

"Position he . . . nani?"

"Do you recall using Isamu as a pillow last night?"

"Sort of. He was just sitting there. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Sesshomaru-sama did not think it was a good idea."

"Why? Isamu does not think of me that way. I was uncomfortable."

"Doesn't think of you that way? I remember being Isamu's age. I would have most certainly thought of an attractive female in that way, especially if her head was in my lap."

"Oh, Kami!" Rin pulled the blankets over her head.

"What? What's wrong? Where am I?" Kagome was blinking like an owl as she looked around. Mizuki was rubbing her head from falling off of her mother's arm when the arm followed its owner off of the floor.

"Nothing," announced a muffled voice under the pile of blankets.

"Rin-chan! You're awake!" Kagome left Katsuro to blink next to his sister as she rushed over to kneel by Rin. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got poisoned, burned, and fell off of a dragon." Rin grimaced, considering sitting up before abandoning the plan as a very bad idea.

"And the cuts, Rin-neechan. Do not forget those." Mizuki dropped a blanket on her brother before joining Kagome.

"I have not forgotten them, Mizuki-chan. Believe me."

Sango scooped up the now squalling pup, stroking his dark hair to settle him. "Not too bad, considering you were taking on a taiyoukai." The yelling had woken her up, but she had no interest is leaving the blankets behind just yet.

"And Merkamou-sama, you're awake, too!" Kagome turned to the hawk that was watching them with amusement. "How are you feeling?"

"Considerably better than the merlin, I believe. Some of the injuries have not fully healed, but I should be fine to get up today."

"Not until the healer has checked you over. You stay there." Kagome used the glare she had mastered as a mother to keep Merkamou down.

"Kagome-sama . . ." Just like one of her pups, Merkamou let out a quiet whine.

"Don't start with me, I'm going to get the healer for Rin anyways, so just stay put until I can bring him back.

"Kagome-sama, I am relieved that you are awake." Kumo bowed before coming to Kagome's side. "The palace is pure chaos right now."

"Ugh. Fine, I'll send the healer back for these two but I need to get to work. I'll take Katsuro, Sango." Kagome slowly got to her feet, stretching out sore muscles. "I'm getting soft from sleeping in a bed every night."

"Mother, may I help?"

"Of course, Mizuki-chan. Sango? Do you want to stay here with the dynamic flying two-some or would you like to come with us?"

"Hey!" Two voices sounded their annoyance at the new nickname.

"I will come with you to see if you need anymore help from me." Kirara reached down from Sango's shoulder to bat at Katsuro as Sango passed him to his mother. "I am certain that these two will stay out of trouble for a short while longer. We should enjoy the peace from having them both down."

"Sango!" Rin glared at her instructor. "He's the trouble maker, not me!"

"Excuse me, merlin?"

Kagome took her entourage out of the stables to return to the palace. Merkamou and Rin exchanged glares.

"And which of us is the trouble maker? I remember a certain someone charging a taiyoukai, then using another as a pillow." Merkamou was sitting up now, looking down at the smaller female.

"And I know of a taiyoukai that got himself poisoned by locking onto the same dragon and who was snoring so loudly last night that hardly anyone got to sleep." Desperate to sit up, Rin managed to get herself propped up, using a blanket and the wall so that she was not laying flat while arguing with her partner in crime.

"I do not snore, merlin."

"Oh, I beg to differ, my lord. I was just subjected to one night in your company, and you most assuredly snore."

"I have heard no complaints from the others who have shared my company for the night."

Blush. "They must have been very sound sleepers, my lord, for you are deafening."

"True, they are usually sleeping soundly by that point." Merkamou gave her an evil grin.

He did not. He did not just say that. Oh, yes, he did. Is he just trying to get me to blush?' Rin squirmed, wishing for somewhere to hide her heated face. I should come up with a retort. I do not want him to know how uncomfortable I am, that would let him win.' "I, for one, would never be tired enough to sleep through that."

"Is that a challenge, merlin?"

That did not work. Please, let the sky fall or let the earth swallow me, anything to get me out of this one. He is just messing with me now!' Rin dropped her eyes to her knees, her mind spinning about.

There was a chuckle from across the straw. "It will wait. Neither of us is in a condition to challenge anybody to anything. How are you feeling, merlin?"

"Like hell. I do not know what I was thinking. You had everything perfectly under control, I do not know why I interfered."

"Because he was threatening your family. Aside from a foolish choice from me, it did bring things to a quicker and less painful end. It would have taken quite a bit longer if it were just me trying to drive the dragon down, or kill it."

"Arigato, Merkamou-sama."

"For what?"

"For telling me that I was able to help. It is easier to deal with the injuries if you think they were for something worthwhile."

"And you doubted this?"

Sighing, Rin pulled her eyes off of her knees and back to Merkamou's. "You know how I feel on the matter."

"Hai." For years he had been exchanging letters with Rin, and she had mentioned on several occasions how frustrated she was by her weaknesses that came with being a ningen. How could she help Sesshomaru if things that did not even slow him down might kill her? After an injury in training, Merkamou had received a letter that had spots from tears blurring the ink in several places. Rin had confided in him that she was considering putting her blades aside and concentrating on more appropriate pursuits for a ningen female. Merkamou had almost gone to the Western Lands himself to talk her out of it, but his letter in reply had done the job. "You are not weak."

"It is hard to see it any other way just now." Rin looked at her bandaged arm, shaking her head. "Another set of scars. Just when I thought I could not be any less attractive."

"I thought we had discussed these bouts of self pity."

"You can say that, you will walk away with no marks at all. Even now you could stand up and walk away."

"Enough. Isamu may have let you wallow in pity, but I will not. You will heal, and you will have learned another lesson. Your instructor will go over the fight with you, and you will make corrections. The next time you go into battle you will be stronger for this."

Brown eyes went back to studying the knees in front of them. "Hai, my lord."

"Merlin, I did not mean it as an order."

"I understand."

"Then quit calling me my lord' like I just gave you an order."

"Um, Merkamou-sama? You are still the Lord of the Southern Lands. I would not dishonor Sesshomaru-sama by treating you in such a way."

Damn title. It's brought me nothing but trouble.' "I do not hear you referring to Isamu as my lord'." Blinking, Merkamou reran that statement though his mind. Oh, damn, did that sound as jealous as I think it did?'

"That is different."

"How?"

"Um." Rin glared at her knees. "I am not sure, but it is. Perhaps because of the way we met. I should call him by his title, but he seems so young for that. He does not seem to be in the same class as you and Sesshomaru-sama and Hideaki-sama. For goodness sake, I have already flattened him in the grass once, and I could never do that to any of you three."

"May I suggest a compromise?"

"Of course, my lord."

"I do not call Kagome by a title in private, and she does not call me by a title. Usually, she does not even use my name, for that matter. May I ask the same from you?"

"You would like for me to speak to you as an equal?"

"Hai."

"If you wish, my lo . . . Merkamou."

It is progress.' Merkamou relaxed, leaning against the wall on his side of the stable. Why I am so annoyed at Isamu being closer to her than me? I do not even want to think about that. I simply wish for her to treat me in the same manner in person that she did in her letters.'

"What does Kagome-chan call you?" Curiosity brought Rin's eyes back up to the gold ones.

"Trouble maker."

"Ah. Appropriate."

"And what do you mean by that, merlin?"

"Oh, the healer is here." Rin turned her eyes to the cranky inu-youkai that had appeared in the door way. "Good morning, Nori-sama."

"And what are you doing up, young lady?" The healer grumbled at his two patients. "I am not surprised to see Merkamou-sama up, but I am certain that you are not supposed to be up yet."

Rin rolled her eyes. "I am just propped up for a change of scenery. Believe me, I am not going anywhere."

Moving her blankets aside the healer started to unwrap bandages. Rin hissed when he uncovered her side, revealing the stitched gashes. Merkamou's eyes narrowed when he saw the injury. "And how did you get that one, merlin?"

"This was from the taiyoukai before he transformed. Fortunately, he did not have poison in his claws. Unlike Mizuki. I had forgotten about that."

"Mizuki?"

"Mizuki is poisonous. She managed to scratch the taiyoukai with her claws and he pulled back with the skin smoking. I think she inherited Sesshomaru-sama's poison. I had no idea, and I do not know if Mizuki did either."

The healer's work distracted Rin away from the conversation. Gritting her teeth, she resolutely looked away from the sight of her own flesh in such sad condition. "Well, healer? When will I be up and about again?"

"I would almost suggest that you have a death wish. This will take time to heal, and it will not heal unless you stay still! No fighting, no flying, no training until I say otherwise." Nori wrapped a new bandage around her torso before checking the burns on her arm. "You have recovered from the poison, that much is obvious, but these cuts will take a couple of days before you are able to move around on your own again."

"A couple of days? I am going to be so bored!"

The healer poked Rin in the side, avoiding serious injuries, to watch her gasp and crumple. "You will remain in bed for a couple of days. Understood?"

Growling, Rin glared at her tormentor. "Fine."

"Now for my lord." Turning to the hawk, the healer was rather surprised to see a nasty glare.

"There was no need to hurt her further." Merkamou was not moving, nor did he growl as was the usual response amongst the inu-youkai. The silence was unnerving to the healer.

"I was proving a point. Rin-sama has a history of ignoring my orders and making her injuries worse." Cautiously, Nori approached the hawk. The poison was most definitely not affecting him anymore. The bandages on his side would need to be changed, but the wound was over halfway healed and should be gone by tomorrow. Working in silence, he rebandaged the hawk.

"Am I allowed to move about, healer?"

"Of course, my lord. Your body has already repaired most of the damage that you had sustained."

"Good."

The healer made a hasty exit, not much caring for Merkamou's expression.

"Well, it looks like you have been given permission to go and see what is going on." Rin stared at the ceiling, trying to hide her frustration. She liked Merkamou's company, and did not want him to take off and leave her alone.

"I will stay for awhile, merlin. The rest of your pack is tending to the problems at the palace. There is such a thing as too much chaos, even for me." Merkamou resettled against the wall, smiling at the young woman across from him.

"If that is your wish, Merkamou."

----


	38. Eccentric Old Geezers

A/N: I do have a lot of characters running around, don't I? Kind of like they are taking over. I'm sure I can spare one if you would like, inuchick. But not Merkamou, he's my favorite. Don't worry about guessing on Rin's partner, I'll sort it out pretty quick. I love the idea of Rin eloping with Ryuutaisho's eldest son! I hadn't even thought of that one. Elope, kill off Ryuutaisho, new mate gets killed in the process, Rin is Lady of the East. Then she can just pick her next mate and annex the North or the South. Hmm, then maybe she could convince Sesshy to go to war against the one she didn't pick, and Sesshy and Rin can rule Japan. Hehehehehe. Thank goodness I don't own the originals, huh?

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"What a stench. First priority, get the huge corpse out of the gardens. Why does everyone insist on fighting in the gardens, anyways? It takes so long to repair them." Kagome held her nose as she glared at the rotting corpse of the taiyoukai. "The least he could have done was transform back and leave a much smaller mess."

"Rin-neechan will be very upset when she sees what happened to her lilies." Mizuki was watching from her mother's side. Spotting the Captain, the pup trotted over to him, leaving her mother to direct the servants in clean up and recovery.

"Excuse me, sir. May I ask for a favor?" Mizuki bowed to the Captain.

"Hai, Mizuki?"

"I am not allowed to go about by myself and I need to retrieve something. Mother is very busy right now, so I was hoping that you would escort me for a short time."

Staring at the pup, the Captain wanted to know what she was up to. Of course, being Sesshomaru's daughter, she was giving nothing away. "Hai, pup, I will come with you."

"Arigato, Captain."

Mizuki led the Captain right to the dragon's corpse, wrinkling her nose at the smell but not showing any other sign of annoyance. It bothered the Captain to have the young pup seeing this kind of carnage, but the pup did not seem to notice. She was looking for something. She circled around the corpse, noticing the tiny set of scratches on a forearm and feeling some pride that she had at least got in one hit. There, still buried in the head of the dragon, were Rin's katanas. Tucking her clothing up, Mizuki moved through the gore to retrieve her sister's swords.

"Oh, no you don't, pup." The Captain caught her before she could scale up the dragon's head. "I will grab them. The last thing we need is for you to be burned again. You mother would have my head on a platter. Stay put and I will grab them for you."

The Captain carefully moved over the corpse, avoiding any direct contact with the rotting flesh. The smell threatened to overwhelm him, but it was short business to yank that katanas free and jump back down to firm ground. "Here you are, pup. They are certainly a mess now. You will have your hands free cleaning them."

"Arigato, Captain." Mizuki dropped another bow before taking the soiled blades. The dragon's blood had coated the metal, leaving them a dull black instead of the usual shining silver. 'This is going to stink. Oh, well, it will give me something to do while I wait for the palace to be back to normal and Rin-neechan to recover.'

The blades were ungainly for the pup to handle, but she managed as she returned to her mother.

"Mizuki, you remembered Rin's blades! She will be so happy to see them. Ewww, dragon guts." Kagome made a face at the mess. "I'm guessing that you want to clean them."

"I do not want to give them to Rin looking like this."

"Good point. We will grab some supplies for you. It will keep you busy while I go over stuff with the staff to find out what we lost in this mess." A servant was sent running off to find supplies for Kagome's pup. "We all need to eat, though. Let's go see what the cooks have gotten set up."

----

"You are certainly touchy today, merlin. What is bothering you?"

'I will close my eyes and pretend that this is just a letter.' Letting her eyelids slide down, Rin tried to form words. "I wish that I could be normal. I would be a perfectly normal youkai, or I could change and be a normal ningen. But I cannot become a youkai and I do not want to change. The idea of sitting inside all day makes my skin crawl."

"And where is this coming from?"

"Isamu. He said that I was not a normal female."

"That cub is much too young to be giving you advice on much of anything. He does not know enough about females to be telling anyone about how they should behave."

"And you do?" Smiling, she could not avoid teasing her friend.

"I know much more about females than Isamu, of that much I am certain. You are a normal female, merlin, you just have skills that most do not have. Hell, most ningen males do not have your skills. I believe that you have the same hopes and desires of other members of you gender. You have additional dreams involving flawless fighting form and finding a perfectly weighted blade, but that is not such a huge difference."

"Really? You do not think that I am so unusual that no one would want me?"

"Such a statement could only come from a normal, young female that wishes to find a mate."

"And what if the other males think as Isamu does?"

"Their loss."

Rin's eyes flew open, locking onto the golden ones. She had not been able to keep herself from looking at Merkamou as a male, not as an uncle. Too many jokes and too much time in contact with him. An attractive, single male was sitting across from her, watching her. "And how do you see me, Merkamou?"

'Now I know how a caged bird feels when they are flying against the bars and trying to escape.' Different answers skittered through Merkamou's mind. "You are a rare creature, my merlin. You should be appreciated for this, and not worry about how others will see you. Only a fool would choose a quiet, common sparrow when there is a falcon around. Someone will appreciate you for exactly what you are."

"Arigato."

----

"Kagome-sama, we should send a note to Akira-sama letting her know what happened." Kumo was at her side, speaking softly so that the others around them would not notice.

"Yeah, but how do I write, 'Hi, we're fine, your son and emissary are dead, better luck next time'?" Hunching up her shoulders, Kagome accepted the writing supplies from Kumo. "Fine, if you are going to insist."

Settling down in the grass, Kagome made several false attempts before writing out her note.

_Lady Akira,_

_Your emissary has arrived with your mate's greeting. He has taken ill and may not be returning as soon as planned. Our apologies on his delay._

_How are your offspring? The emissary had mentioned one of your sons was also ill. My condolences if he is. My own offspring are doing well, but it is always a concern with young ones._

_I hope that things will become calm in your own lands. The spring weather has caused this court to become excitable, and it is hard to control. At times it feels almost impossible. I am certain that the males will find a way to burn off the excess energy._

_Peace,_

_Lady Kagome_

"So, what do you think, Kumo? Vague enough?" Kagome handed her note over to Kumo, letting her assistant check her work over.

"I think it will slip through. It is almost too obvious, but I do not think you can afford to be any more vague." Kumo handed her a honeysuckle blossom that she had plucked from the garden. "We will have to make do with a fresh one, but if we flatten it in the note it will serve its purpose."

"Arigato, Kumo. I would be lost without your help." Kagome tucked the blossom in as she folded the note, pressing the flower flat. She sealed it and handed it off to a messenger, with orders to get it to the Lady of the East as quickly as possible. With youkai messengers, it would be a short trip across Japan to deliver her message.

"Do you think she will hate me now that we have killed her son?" Kagome's eyes followed the messenger as he ran out the gate.

"She had to know that you would do anything to defend your pups. She would have done no less. Just because it is her son does not mean that she agreed with his actions." Kumo hugged her arms, pushing away memories from the last time the lands of the West had gone to war. "It does not matter, she needed to know what happened, and hopefully before her mate can find out."

"I know. It's hard, since I almost think of her as a friend. I think I'm too soft for this game."

"You are, Kagome-sama." Kumo kept her eyes focused on the horizon, not looking towards her lady. "And you should remain as such. I will ensure that it does not change."

Kagome graced Kumo with one of her honest, brilliant smiles. "I would have never been able to do this without you, Kumo."

"You would have found a way, Kagome-sama." Bowing, Kumo collected the writing supplies from her lady. "I believe that lunch has been prepared in the courtyard. We should join the rest of your family there."

"Arigato, Kumo."

----

"Well, pretty much anything in the kitchens that was not completely sealed needs to be tossed. Thank goodness it's not winter." Kagome stood under the tree in the courtyard, a list in one hand and part of her lunch in the other. "After this I am starting a strict no visitors policy. I am not letting anyone else onto the grounds that is not a member of the court or the family. Does everyone hear me! No more visitors!"

"Moo."

'Why do I even have guards. Honestly.' Spinning around Kagome was faced with three eyes, blinking at her out of synch. "Mou-mou? Nani?"

"Kagome-sama!"

A familiar voice was closely followed by a familiar sting on her cheek. Kagome reached up to slap at the annoyance, flattening the little flea.

"Myouga? Totosai? What on Earth?"

"Is it really you, Kagome? I had heard that Inu No Taisho's pup had taken a ningen for a mate, but I would have never guessed that it was you!" Totosai scratched at his head. "We have met, right?"

Rolling her eyes at the eccentric old youkai, Kagome focused on Myouga. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since before we defeated Naraku."

"I have been with Totosai, of course. It would seem a logical place for one such as myself, since I was certain that Inuyasha-sama would come to see the sword smith one more time before going into battle."

"You've been hiding, huh?"

The flea waved his many arms at her, bouncing up and down. "I have not been hiding! When I heard of Inuyasha-sama's demise I was heartbroken. I was masterless, and had nothing to return to!"

"And you two are here now . . . why? Neither of you gets along with Sesshomaru." Kagome shifted her gaze away from the annoyed flea to focus on the sword smith.

"Well, when I heard that Sesshomaru had gotten himself an heir I just had to come and see for myself. Is that the pup?" Totosai hopped from his bull with surprising speed for such a frail looking creature.

Kagome waved Isamu back. The young lord had not been amused by the sudden appearance of the strange youkai, and wanted them to stay far away from the heir. Sango shook her head at the old geezers. Bringing Katsuro with her, she walked over to Kagome's side. "It must be safe now, if these two are here."

"Of course it's safe, why wouldn't it be safe?" Totosai peered at Katsuro, who tipped his head to the side and peered back.

"Um, unless your nose has gone the same way as your mind, you would notice the corpse we are trying to get rid of." Gesturing towards the gardens, Kagome directed her guests' attention to the servants hauling away bits of rotting dragon.

"How did that get there? It can't be good for the gardens. Sesshomaru's mother was so proud of those gardens." Shaking, his head, Totosai did not see the blow coming until Kagome's hand connected with his skull.

"That was an assassin courtesy of Ryuutaisho for my pups, baka. How do you think it got there?"

"Pups? Oh, yes, I had heard of a daughter. Is that her over there? Oh, she's a pretty little thing." Totosai refocused on the other pup.

"Kagome-sama, that appears to have been a taiyoukai. Did Ryuutaisho send such a powerful assassin for your family?" Myouga was scratching at the side of his face, deep in thought from his perch on Kagome's hand.

"Hai, Myouga. And there was another one posing as an emissary that set off poison bombs in the palace."

"It is a good thing that Sesshomaru-sama was here to defend his family."

"And Merkamou-sama and Rin, as well. Even Hideaki-sama and Isamu got involved."

"This will not sit will with the dragon of the East."

"I know. Sesshomaru has already told me that it looks like we will be going to war."

Myouga shook his head. "It is always a difficult decision to go to war. At least you will be safe."

"Oh, I can see the resemblance. This is definitely Sesshomaru's pup." Totosai was poking at Mizuki, walking around her and examining her.

"Mother . . . " Mizuki let out a slight growl as Totosai pinched at her cheeks and pulled her face into a grin.

"Totosai, stop that! If she bites you it will be your own fault! And Myouga, what do you mean at least I'll be safe?"

"You will be here while Sesshomaru-sama leads the troops into battle, of course. War is no place for a lady." Myouga was nodding his head, giving the impression of great wisdom. Whether the impression was true or not was left up to interpretation.

"Ow!" Totosai snatched his hand back from the growling Mizuki, holding a bleeding finger.

"You would think that he would learn to not pick on inu-youkai or inu-hanyou." Sango stroked Katsuro's ears.

"I told you, Totosai. Now play nice or she'll bite you again. Myouga, I can't stay here without Sesshomaru, the bond won't let us." Kagome set the flea on her shoulder so she could separate the insane sword smith from her annoyed daughter.

"What are you talking about, Kagome-sama?" The temptation to bite the delicious ningen was overwhelming, but Myouga fought it off. Later, when she was distracted.

"I can't be separated from Sesshomaru for that long. It will make us insane. Come on, you've seen inu-youkai mates before."

"That is true, Kagome-sama, but they have never complained of being unable to separate. This is most unusual."

"Nani?" Kagome completely forgot about saving Totosai from her daughter. She plucked Myouga from his perch to stare at him. "What are you saying, Myouga?"

"I am saying that this is not normal. Perhaps we should discuss this with Sesshomaru-sama. He would not have known the details of his father's bond, so he would not know if any of these things were normal. You would think that he would remember that Inu No Taisho was able to leave his mate behind when he went to battle, but he was young."

Staring blankly at the flea, Kagome tried to assimilate the new information. 'We knew that some things were weird, but I guess we didn't now how weird. Great.'

"Totosai, leave her alone!" Sango smacked Totosai on the head with her boomerang, leaving a large bump and sending him to the ground. Mizuki had taken a swipe at him with her claws when he had decided to examine her teeth.

"Sesshomaru is . . . " The unfocused look came over Kagome's face as she located her mate. "He is on the other side of the palace, talking to the healer, I think. He seems pretty neutral, so nothing exciting going on. We can talk to him soon."

"Now I know that's not normal." Totosai sprang up from the ground to peer at Kagome. "How are you doing that?"

"I . . . I don't know." Kagome scratched her head in confusion. "I just do. I figured it was because I was a miko."

"It may be. I do not remember there ever being a miko mated to a youkai, much less a taiyoukai. There is no way of knowing what will be different." Hoping from her shoulder to her hand, Myouga managed a concerned look

"Just great, all I need, more chaos."

"Do not worry, Kagome-sama. I will be able to advise you on these matters."

"Oh, yes, I feel much better. Well, as long as you are here I will feel much safer. You never stick around when there is any real danger."

"Kagome-sama, I am hurt that you would say such a thing! I was a loyal vassal to Inuyasha-sama for many years!"

"As long as he was between you and any kind of danger, you mean."

The flea resumed his bouncing and arm flailing. "I have never been so insulted!"

"So, Kagome, what are you having for lunch?" Totosai looked over to where the cooks were feeding the palace occupants.

'That's it, I'm getting Sesshomaru. He can deal with these two.' Kagome tossed Myouga off to Totosai and left the courtyard. Sango could watch the pups while she retrieved their father. 'It's bad enough that I have a rotting dragon, two injured trouble makers in the stable, and everyone sleeping outside. Now I have these old geezers, and Mizuki's already bitten one. I am putting in my two weeks notice, I am quitting as Lady of the West. I'm not paid nearly enough for this.'

Seeing Sesshomaru made Kagome smile. 'I just couldn't give this job up. The perks are much too good.'


	39. Caught

A/N: I guess I didn't describe Merkamou too thoroughly, did I? I'll try to sneak some more details in. I usually keep that stuff vague, so people can fill in the blanks as they see fit, but he's gotten important enough to get a description. The chapters are set at a length I can handle, being rather ADD. Otherwise I lose focus and wander off. Oh, pretty birdy! Anyways. I warned everyone that there would be a whole mess of characters running around, but I'm trying to limit the herd. I'm just going with the series, where there were characters all over the place! Maybe I should just start killing some off. I own none of the originals

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"Sesshomaru! It's been a long time, pup!"

"Totosai. Why are you here and upsetting my daughter?"

"Upsetting? I would never upset your daughter. I haven't even been near her!" Totosai was perched on Mou-Mou, hovering about twenty feet off of the ground. Below him Sango and Mizuki were glaring daggers.

"He is a liar." Careful to show nothing, especially with her father watching, Mizuki turned to her adopted aunt. "What does he mean he has not been near me?"

"I have never been to sure whether he actually forgets or if he is just acting dumb." Katsuro was squirming in Sango's arms as he reached for an amused Kirara. Trying to balance Katsuro, watch Totosai, and talk to Mizuki was giving Sango a headache.

"You still have not explained your presence."

"I came to see your heir, of course. I have now seen three generations of this family." Peering down at the little pup, Totosai made a face. Instead of the usual giggles Katsuro growled at him. "What's the matter with him?"

"Sesshomaru, I think we should talk with Totosai and Myouga. In private." Kagome tried to distract her mate before he knocked Totosai off of his bull.

"Hn." Without a second glance Sesshomaru turned and walked into the palace.

"Hey, is it safe in there for me yet?"

"Hai." Sesshomaru could not catch even a hint of poison anymore and felt secure with his mate in the building. He led the motley group, minus the bull, to his study. A few servants scurried out when he entered, almost plowing into each other as they tried to bow and flee at the same time.

"What could these two possibly have to say that will be of interest?"

"Now Sesshomaru-sama, you know that I was a trusted retainer of your father's and advised him in many a dire situation." Myouga bounced to the center of Sesshomaru's desk.

"The question is whether or not father was foolish enough to listen."

Little arms flailing, Myouga began his familiar bounce.

"Myouga, why don't you tell Sesshomaru why you don't think that this bond is normal?" Carefully pulling Sesshomaru's hand back off of the desk revealed the crushed flea to Kagome.

"Sesshomaru should have noticed that his father could leave his mate's side. Even with that thick skull it should have been obvious." Totosai worked on biting a nail, not noticing that the glare was now directed at him.

"Totosai."

"Kagome, protect me!" Diving behind the miko gave Totosai the impression of safety.

"You insulted him, you deal with it." Trying to shake the old geezer was more difficult than it looked. No matter which way Kagome moved, Totosai kept her between him and Sesshomaru. "Myouga, you explain to Sesshomaru while I deal with this idiot. Knock it off!"

"Of course, my lady. Sesshomaru-sama, you may not remember your father's bond, but I have clear recollections of it. Today Kagome said that you two cannot be separated, and that she can locate you in the palace and see some of what you see. I have never heard of such things in all of my time with the inu-youkai."

"She is a miko. The bond would not be the same as that with a youkai or a ningen." Keeping one eye on his mate while she thwaped Totosai repeatedly kept Sesshomaru distracted. It was most amusing.

"Hai, my lord. Has there been anything else unusual?"

"She can influence my blood and calm it."

"Amazing! Can you do the same for her?"

"Nani?" The scuffle in his office was forgotten as the inu-youkai focused on the flea.

"You have never tried to influence Kagome-sama? A bond does work both ways. You should be able to influence her in return."

"The influence was attributed to her miko abilities, as is the ability to locate me with such precision." The possibility of having the ability to influence the miko was intriguing. Sesshomaru did not like being at a disadvantage, even if it was to his mate.

Especially if it was to his mate.

"Either way, pup, I would be worried if I were you." Totosai was flat out on the floor. The miko was breathing hard and glaring. "It looks to me like your bond is all screwy. Who knows what else could go wrong?"

"He has a point." Kagome dropped to a cushion, pushing back her hair. "How do we find out about our bond? If this has never happened before I don't know where we would even look."

"If I were looking for information, I would see Bokusenou."

Sesshomaru nodded to the flea. "Bokusenou would be the most likely source of information."

"In the meantime you should keep the young lady safe. Who knows what would happen if she was killed with that bond of yours. Separation makes you insane. Just imagine if she was gone." The crazed sword smith's head was slammed into Sesshomaru's desk by an enraged miko.

"Don't say stuff like that! Baka!"

"I would not worry as much about Sesshomaru-sama as I would Kagome-sama. The bond appears to be stronger in her, probably because she is a miko. I doubt she would survive Sesshomaru-sama's passing."

"Do not be ridiculous." Smashing the flea helped Sesshomaru with some of his new found stress. However, trampling Jaken would have worked better, since he was so much larger. "This Sesshomaru will not die."

"Of course, my lord." The flattened flea fluttered to the floor.

"Out, both of you."

The cowards beat a hasty retreat.

"Do you think it's true?" Kagome was methodically shredding the edges of a financial report that had come into her grasp. Sesshomaru pulled the report away before she could destroy it.

"Which part?"

"You die if I die and vice versa."

"I do not know." Rubbing his temples, Sesshomaru closed his eyes. A rustle of cloth told him that Kagome was moving to his side. Gentle fingers pushed his aside and began to massage his headache away. "It is possible, since we cannot be separated."

"This is a problem. You may have just inherited a human lifespan."

"Hai."

"So, when are we going to visit Bokusenou?"

"Now is not a good time. We are preparing for war."

"Do you want to go to battle without knowing what the hell is going on?" The hands on his temples slid down so the miko could wrap her arms around his shoulders and lean against his back. "I have to go with you. We should have at least some idea of what could happen before we barrel in there."

"True." There was that soothing influence again. She was not even conscious of doing it, but the stress was running out of Sesshomaru. "We will see Bokusenou before we go to the East. We will learn what we can of our bond."

----

"Totosai-sama?"

"Huh?" Bugged out eyes swept the room before dropping to find a silver haired pup. "Mizuki! What do you want, pup?"

"I was told that you are a sword smith, Totosai-sama."

"Hai."

"I have a pair of katanas that need to be repaired. They were left in a dragon for a day and a night, and now the blades cannot be cleaned."

"They were in the taiyoukai outside?" Totosai scratched his head with a claw. "Let me take a look at them."

Mizuki retrieved a bundle of cloth and untied it to reveal the two swords.

"I recognize these! These are Rin's that I made for her!" Totosai carefully examined the blades. "Oh, they are a sight now, aren't they?"

"Rin-sama would be very upset to lose these. Can you repair them, Totosai-sama?"

"Oh, I think I can. I don't usually make blades for ningens, but your father can be very persuasive. I'm going to take these out back and see what I can do with them. I should have them done by tomorrow."

"Arigato, Totosai-sama."

----

'It's good to be back in my room, even if I am this bored.' Rin stared at her ceiling, listening to her sister's breathing. Mizuki was supposed to be in her own room, but the pup had just walked in and flopped onto the second bed with no explanations.

'Probably still upset from yesterday. No surprise there. It's not everyday you face down a taiyoukai.'

Images of claws ripping through her side clouded Rin's mind. Slowly sitting up, Rin stumbled to her window. Pushing the shutters open let the moonlight shine down on her. Slowly, she pulled herself up to sit in the window, her legs hanging outside of the building. A breeze tossed her unruly hair and brought the scent of spring flowers. That scent brought Rin a feeling of calm and contentment that nothing else could match. 'A few minutes of this and I will be ready for sleep.'

Resting her head against the side of the window, Rin let her mind just go blank. She did not notice the foot steps until they were practically on top of her. Eyes flew open as her hands went for blades that were not there. Her precarious position was not nearly enough to support all of the extra movement. Muffling a squeak, Rin toppled towards the ground.

Strong arms caught her and returned her to her seat. Rin winced as she felt the stitches pull, but it did not feel like any had ripped. A quick glance showed that Mizuki had slept through the embarrassing episode.

Ice blue eyes were staring at Rin with confusion and amusement. "I am fortunate that you are not armed tonight. You would have run me through when I grabbed you, and we would both be injured and on the ground."

"Shut up. You should not have snuck up on me like that." Rin ignored her blush to glare at Isamu. "This is probably the only time you will find me unarmed, so you were lucky."

"So it will be Rin the exterminator and not Rin the lady?"

"As if that was actually a question. I am not suited to a quiet life spent indoors."

"It is too bad, I would have liked to have met Rin the lady. Rin the exterminator is as sharp as her blades." Isamu ducked the swing.

"Jerk." The warrior eyeballed the leopard. "I do not think there is a Lady Rin for you to meet."

"You never know. Come, you are unarmed, it is just us, try to be Lady Rin."

Rin ducked her head. "I do not know how."

"Come on, just act like the females you see at court. How are you today, Rin-sama?"

"I am well, Isamu-sama. And how are you this night?" Rin's usual open expression was replaced with a simper and her voice went up half an octave.

"I am wonderful, Rin-sama, since I chanced upon your beauty."

"Oh, my lord, you flatter me." Rin's hand took the place of her fan, fluttering and hiding half of her face.

"It is nothing more than the truth. Will you join me for a walk through the gardens?"

"Oh, no, my lord! I could not be seen with a male at night without a proper chaperone. You should speak to my father. So fresh, my lord." Eyelashes fluttered at Isamu from over the 'fan'.

"I have changed my mind. Rin the lady is no fun. How was I to know that she would be one of those ladies?"

"What kind of lady do you wish for me to be, my lord? I am just a simple female, after all." Rin peeped at him from over her hand.

"One of the interesting ones. One that bends the rules and has some fun." Isamu looked set to have a great pout.

"One of the ladies with a reputation, you mean. You know I would never shame Seshomaru-sama that way. If I am to be a lady, I will be an honorable one." The 'fan' dropped as Rin's easy smile reappeared.

"And what of the exterminator?"

Rin was suddenly aware that Isamu was standing quite close to her. She could feel her face heat up as she fidgeted with the window. "She is honorable as well."

"But does she have fun? Does she bend the rules?"

Her pulse was pounding in her ears as Rin felt Isamu set one of his hands on hers. "She follows the rules."

"Even when the rules are silly and she does not want to?" The hands were sliding up Rin's arms as the icy blue eyes drew closer.

"I always want to follow the rules." 'He is much to close! I need to hit him, or kick him, or something! Move, body!' Rin's body ignored her, choosing to put one hand at Isamu's waist while the other gripped the window.

"Are you sure?"

Warm, soft lips pressed to Rin's. Her eyes slid closed of their own accord as her mind went blank. Gentle pressure asked her to respond, coaxing her lips to return the kiss. Her fingers clenched in his clothing as he pressed gently against her.

When Isamu moved away Rin almost fell out of her window again. Her fingers went to her lips, remembering.

"You should return to bed, Rin." Isamu took her arm and helped her to slide back into her room. He brushed his lips against hers one more time, then disappeared into the dark.

Staggering to her bed, Rin tried to make her brain turn back on.

'What was that? What was that?'

"What was that?"

It took Rin's befuddled brain a moment to realize that the last comment had sounded like Mizuki's voice. The silver hair was shining in the moonlight as Mizuki stared at her sister.

"Can you not sleep through anything, pup? Honestly!"

"I think it was that obnoxious voice you were using that woke me up. Now, answer the question. What was that?"

Staring at her feet, Rin brought her brain back under control. "That, Mizuki-chan, was my first kiss."

"Yeah? No kidding? Wow!" Mizuki hopped out of her bed and came to sit with her sister. "And? What did you think?"

"I was not thinking. Not at all. Even now my mind is all foggy."

"I think that is what is supposed to happen."

"What are you talking about? You are eight!"

Mizuki poked her sister in the arm. "I can read, you know."

"I am not even going to ask what you have been reading. It was good, I think. It is not like I have anything to compare it to."

"And what are you going to do now?"

"I do not know. I really do not. I did not think that he saw me that way. I had never even considered this. How am I going to face him tomorrow?" Rin dropped back into her pillows. "What have I done? He's a taiyoukai, Hideaki-sama's heir!"

"Told you he had a crush on you."

"All right, all right, he had a crush on me. You will never let me live this one down."

"Of course not." Mizuki flopped next to Rin, stealing a pillow. "You could always ask Mama what to do."

"Only if I want Sesshomaru-sama to know. We can not let Sesshomaru-sama know. He would throw Isamu through a wall, or worse. He might get Tokijin out, and then Hideaki-sama will be out an heir. We are going to end up at war with the East and the North at the same time and it's all my fault! Sesshomaru-sama is going to kill Isamu, and Hideaki-sama . . ."

"Rin-neechan."

"Gomen, Mizuki. It is kind of creepy when you do that."

"When I do what?"

"That impression of Sesshomaru-sama."

"What impression?"

'Oh, Kami.' Rin gave her sister the one eyebrow look that she had learned from Sesshomaru, only to see the exact same expression being directed back at her. "So, we are going to keep this between the two of us, right?"

Sigh. "Very well, Rin-neechan. I still think you should talk to Mama, but I will not tell anyone."

"Arigato, Mizuki-chan."

"So."

"So what?"

"Are you going to kiss him again?"

"You are so lucky that I am injured, pup."

----

"Rin-neechan, Totosai-sama was able to fix your katanas!" Mizuki was leading the swordsmith to Rin's seat outside of her bedroom window. Rin refused to stay indoors, so this was her compromise with the healer.

"Totosai! I have not seen you in such a long time!"

"And not a moment too soon. What were you thinking, leaving a weapon in the enemy?"

"I was not thinking, I was unconscious. Can I see my katanas now?" Rin attempted a fierce glare, but it was harder when sitting in a pile of cushions.

"Oh, fine, but I should warn you that they're a little different."

"How so?" Rin watched as Totosai drew one of the katanas to reveal a shining black blade. "What happened?"

"You katanas were soaking in taiyoukai blood for a long time, youngster. That's not a bad thing, either. I just heated the metal a bit and locked the youki in. I hope it's not too much for you, it's just some youki and the swords already know you."

"Know me? Totosai, has your mind finally left? They are just swords."

"Just swords! How dare you say such a thing? To think of the work I put into them for someone that would not appreciate it. Trying to have just enough youki in it to strengthen the blade without overwhelming or burning a young ningen. I should just take these back!"

"No!" Rin lunged to her knees, grabbing Totosai's sleeve. "No, Totosai. Nobody told me that you had made these. Please, just let me touch them."

"Okay, but if they try anything let go, don't try to fight them. Just one blade."

Tentative fingers closed around the hilt of one blade. Rin could feel heat and a prickling sensation run through her arm. The sensation intensified, and she had the impression of the sword tugging at her. She fixed the blade with a glare and concentrated on controlling it. The sensation faded to a warm glow, letting Rin relax. "I think it is okay, Totosai. Can I have the other one, please?"

"Of course, young lady."

The second blade seemed to take a hint from its twin and only put up a token resistance. "I think that I will be fine with these. Will they act any different?"

"I don't know." Scratching at his stomach Totosai looked up at the sky. "They should be stronger, but I don't know what else will be different. Dragon's blood is poisonous, so your blades may be the same way now."

"Well, no more practicing with these." The katanas were resheathed and set next to Rin. "Arigato, Totosai."

"When you figure out how those work be sure to let me know. And try not to be so rough with them! They took a long time to make, and Sesshomaru would be very annoyed if he had to help make two more."

"I promise, I will be careful with them. Do not worry about your creations."

Mumbling, Totosai walked away. "Why do none of my swords end up in good homes? I should keep all of my work from now on."

"We can still hear you, and my sister does not look very happy about it, either!" Rin giggled as Totosai startled and bolted away at the mention of Mizuki.

"Should I chase him?" Sapphire eyes gleamed as she saw her prey run.

"No, Mizuki-chan, let the coward run. He should know better then to run in an inu-youkai household, but he did repair my katanas."

"Very well." Mizuki dropped next to her sister. "But if he runs like that again I will chase him down."

"And do what? Gnaw on his ears?"

Mizuki stuck her nose in the air and looked away from her sister. "I can be quite dangerous when provoked."

"Sure, pup. Sure."


	40. Merlin

A/N: I was inspired, at work of all places, to add a chapter. This was not in the original outline, but it seemed necessary before the next chapter which I am posting at the same time. People get grumpy when I just jump into something without any explanation or background. Everyone cross your fingers that I won't get fired for this one! It's short, it's fluffy, it makes me happy. Anyways, you have been warned, blackXheart. Fluffy alert! I have violence in the next chapter, though, to make up for it. And I promise large amounts of violence later, to make up for the sappy stuff. I don't own anything that might actually make me money.

----

"I thought you were supposed to be resting."

Rin startled and gave Isamu a guilty look. "I am resting. Just one blade, and I am working at half speed."

"You know what that healer and Kagome-sama would say if they saw you."

"Kagome-chan has already threatened to tie me down if I do not rest, but I just can not stay still! I will stiffen up and slow down. What good will I be to Sesshomaru-sama then? I must be ready when he marches east."

"You truly intend to follow him into battle?" Isamu sat with his back against the palace, staring at Rin.

"Of course. I will follow Sesshomaru-sama as I have always done. I will help him."

"Why not say here? Someone must remain to guard the palace. The front lines are no place for a female."

"I have as much right to be there as you. Maybe more." Rin slammed her blade into her sheath and crossed her arms.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I have spent most of the last week barely able to move because of that bastard. It was my family he attacked, my brother and sister he tried to kill. I want my revenge."

"That's my point. That was one taiyoukai. Are you ready to face his brothers and father?"

Rin went white. "I will not be alone. I will have Sesshomaru-sama and Merkamou-sama with me. And you will be there as well."

"I do not want to spend my time watching out for a ningen female when I should be at my father's side, claiming victory."

"Fine. I will take care of myself. I do not need anyone's help." Ignoring her stiff body, Rin stomped away. She only managed about a dozen paces before she was spun back around.

"Do not be like that, Rin. I only want what is best for you. A ningen in this war? That is suicide. It will not help anyone if you get yourself killed. Why not stay here and guard Kagome-sama's pups?" Isamu held Rin by her upper arms, staring down into her eyes.

Rin wavered. "I will think about it, Isamu."

"Arigato, Rin." A soft kiss was brushed across her lips. "And remember what you promised last night?"

Sigh. "Hai, Isamu. You will see at dinner."

"I look forward to it."

----

"Merlin, where are your blades?"

Rin turned to find Merkamou staring at her from the door of his room. "They are in my room, my lord. I am in no condition to use them, so I left them."

She is a poor liar.' Merkamou studied Rin's appearance. A beautiful kimono, her hair carefully styled, and it appeared as though some cosmetics had been used. There was even a fan at her waist. Most frightening of all, her eyes were blank, and her smile was missing. She looks like a noble lady. What the hell?'

"Is there something wrong, my lord?"

"You do not look like yourself."

Rin wanted to glare, to stick out her tongue or smack him, but she resisted. "I am in different clothing. It is not such a drastic change."

"I was referring to your eyes. I have seen you dressed like this before, but it is as though there are screens over your eyes."

"Nani?"

"Merlin, what are you trying to prove?"

Rin took a step back. "Nothing, my lord. You are seeing things."

Merkmaou advanced, closing the distance. "You are much too honest to lie well, and this is a poor disguise. Whoever put this idea into your head, and I believe I know who it is, does not appreciate you for what you are. Why would you wish to be just like everyone else?"

"What do you know? People change, my lord. Just because you think of me as a merlin does not automatically mean that I am. What if this is what I want?"

"What you want, or what he wants?"

"He has nothing to do with this!"

"If this is what you want, then I wish you all joy with it, Rin-san." Merkamou brushed past her to walk away.

The sound of her proper name from his lips threatened to bring tears to Rin's eyes. "Merkamou."

The taiyoukai stopped, but did not turn around.

"I will always be your merlin, no matter what others may see."

He turned to her, a small smile appearing. "I hope that is because you wish it to be so. Stop trying to be whatever he wants of you. If you wish to change, so be it, but do it because you want to." Shaking his head, Merkamou returned to his usual boisterous self. "Now we will be late for our meal. Although I am usually late, you are usually prompt. Come, I will walk you to the dining hall as is appropriate for a lady."

Rin stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her eyes.

"Ah, and what a lady she is. The court will swoon at her grace."

"Shut up, jerk."

"And her eloquence."

A sound punch connected with the hawk's arm.

"Ow, and delicacy."

The kimono stilted Rin's movements and gave her intentions away. Merkamou easily sidestepped her kick, giving her a mock glare. "You are much too fond of using questionable blows, merlin."

"Then quit driving me crazy," Rin hissed as they walked into the dining hall.

Isamu's eyes swept over Rin, taking in her appearance with pleasure. Having Merkamou escorting her made his hackles come up, especially with them whispering together. She was smiling, that open honest smile that she would always use with that hawk.

Rin sank to her place, ignoring Kagome's perplexed look. I really need to talk to her. This is getting confusing.' Isamu seemed pleased with her appearance, but he was giving Merkamou glares whenever the hawk looked at her. He did not say a word to her through the meal, leaving her to chatter with Kagome and Merkamou as usual.

After the family had scattered to their rooms for the night, Rin went out to the gardens. She had promised Isamu she would meet him out here. It seemed strange that he only wanted to talk to her when they could be alone, but perhaps he was shy.

Standing under a tree, Rin fidgeted with her clothes. If it was not for her kimono she would have won that argument with Merkamou. Her hands strayed to where her hilts should be, feeling vulnerable. She was in the gardens alone, at night, and unarmed. This is stupid. Anything could happen, and I would be helpless. I can not even run like this. Baka, baka, baka, Rin.'

Arms closed around her waist, startling her. Reflexes that had been pounded into her for the last decade took over. She brought her elbow back, connecting with his diaphragm and stunning him. A second elbow to the side of his head was joined by a sharp stomp to his foot.

Isamu had expected a cute squeal and jump, like any of the other ladies he had accosted at night. Instead he was under attack, trying to get away as his intended conquest tripped him and threw him to the ground.

"Rin, what are you doing?"

Eyes practically popping out of her head, Rin recognized Isamu. "Oh, gomen, Isamu. You startled me." Leaning back against the tree, Rin silently apologized to her body, which was loudly protesting the abuse. Gomen, gomen.'

"Are you insane? Why would you attack me like that?"

"I did not know it was you! You could have been an attacker, and I am unarmed. I do not care what you say, my katanas are staying with me from now on!"

"Why? I can protect you."

Laughter was Rin's initial response. "Sure you can. You should pick yourself up off of the ground before you say that."

"You know I am stronger than you."

I think he just threatened me.' The laughter stopped as Rin stared at him. "Hai, you are stronger. However, you have no self control. How do you think I was able to beat you before?"

"That was a fluke. I was holding back."

"So was I." The challenge hung heavy in the air.

"Enough. I will not argue about this with you. We will settle this when you are able to train again. We would not want to cause more damage to your already injured body." Isamu was smiling, but it bore more than a passing resemblance to a snarl. You will be flat out on the ground this time, and you will not question my abilities again.'

"Very well, it will wait." Rin snapped her head away, turning to gaze up through the branches to the sky. Confusion was pulling at her. Is it just me, or does he truly wish to change me? I thought he wanted to help, but now I am not sure.'

"I did not want to meet you here to fight." Hands were trailing up Rin's arms to rest on her shoulders. Isamu reveled in the sight and feel of Rin's clothing, soft silk caressing his fingers.

Sigh. "I do not wish to fight, either." Rin leaned back to rest against his chest. The warm hands were massaging away the tension, relaxing her. She felt his lips at the side of her neck and sighed again. What am I doing? This is insane. What does he want from me?'

A finger turned her head so that Isamu could press a kiss to her lips. His hands slid from her shoulders to her waist, holding her against him. The kiss became more urgent.

Rin felt a soft stroke at her bottom lip. She allowed her lips to part, giving him access. His tongue met hers, stroking it. Something close to panic hit Rin's stomach. What the hell is he doing? Is he supposed to do that? Should I bite him? No, no, do not bite him. Am I supposed to be enjoying this? Whoa, where is that hand going?'

One of Isamu's hands had slid up her body to cup a breast, making Rin jump. She broke away, panting for air. "I must return to my room, Isamu. Mizuki will be looking for me."

The kimono prevented Rin from bolting like she wanted to, forcing her to move at a more sedate pace.

Well, that was progress.' Isamu turned to find his own room. She may be more fun then I gave her credit for.'

Holy Kami, Holy Kami, Holy Kami.' Rin's mind was spinning when she slipped into her own room. Mizuki was not there, giving Rin a chance to reorganize.

Okay, he was not supposed to do that. I know that much. Much too far for my comfort. I had hoped that he would be content with a few kisses, but obviously not. He really does like ladies with a reputation, and I will have one if he does not stop soon! No, I have to stop him. He has not self control in battle, I do not know why I thought he would in this.'

Rin struggled with her obi, fighting her way free of the layers of silk. I will tell him tomorrow that we will go no further. He will stop if I tell him to. He cares about me. He must if he is so eager to touch me. And I will talk with Kagome-chan. She will know what to do.'

Dressed for sleep, Rin moved her katanas to rest next to her head. I will never be without them again, not even for him. I will always be the merlin first and anything else second.'


	41. Honor

A/N: As promised, here is the other chapter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Okay, it's been a week, and it has not stopped. Last night was different, though.' Memories of an embrace culminating in her lips parting and allowing entry clogged Rin's mind. 'I am overdue to talk to Kagome-chan about this. I need advice from someone with more experience then my little sister.'

Fidgeting with her sleeves, Rin slipped into Kagome's study. Katsuro was sitting up in his mother's lap, watching her write. The pup was growing like a weed, and getting into everything. The miko smiled when she saw Rin come in. "Rin-chan! What's up?"

"Can I talk to you about something personal?"

"Of course, jo-chan."

"It is about Isamu. About a week ago we were talking, at night, and we were joking about what I would be like as a lady. And then he sort of . . . kissed me."

"Really? Isamu kissed you? Oh, how cute!" Kagome slapped her hands to her cheeks and squealed like a little girl. "And?"

"And what?"

"And what did you think? How was it?"

"I do not know. It was nice. I was so surprised that it did not even seem real at the time. But the moon was shining down, and he looked amazing, and he was looking at me with those eyes, and I just could not help myself!"

"And it's a full moon! How romantic! Full moon . . . " Kagome looked to a calendar on her desk and frowned. "Tonight is Mizuki's human night. She'll be very cranky. I'll worry about that later. What happened next?"

Blushing, Rin studied the floor. "I went to bed. Of course Mizuki woke up, so I had to explain everything to her."

"Has he tried to kiss you again?"

"Hai. A couple of times, actually. Please, Kagome-chan, do not tell Sesshomaru-sama. He would be furious!"

"I know, I know. It was just a kiss, right? He didn't try anything, did he?"

"No, I do not think so." Rin swallowed hard over her white lie. "It is very weird. All day he acts like nothing has changed, but when we are alone he is different."

"Hn."

"Oh, do not do that, Kagome-chan."

"Do you love him, Rin-chan?"

"Nani?"

"Do I have to explain this concept to everyone in this household?" Kagome looked down at her pup. "Katsuro, love is . . . "

"I know what love means, Kagome-chan. I just did not know that you could only kiss someone you loved."

"No, you don't have to love them to kiss them. What do you want him to do? Does he want you for a mate?"

"He has not said anything like that."

'If that cub is just toying with her I will personally castrate him with a dull knife.' Kagome sighed. "Be careful, Rin-chan. He is a lord, and used to getting anything he wants. Don't do anything just because he wants you to. He may not have your best interests in mind."

----

"Give it up, cub. You will not be able to imitate her fighting style. She has been working on that nonstop for years now." Merkamou swatted both blades out of Isamu's hands. "You would be better served by learning how to stop her. When she is allowed to train again she could teach you."

"I would never live it down if I took lessons from a ningen female." Isamu retrieved his swords to face Merkamou again. "If she can do it, then I can do it."

"Ah, the voice of youth." The hawk stepped to the side, easily avoiding the larger taiyoukai's attack. "Ningen does not always equal weak or simple."

"Anything a ningen can do I can do." Isamu lunged again, trying to make his left hand control the second blade with as much ease as his right hand controlled its blade.

"I am certain that the merlin would be amused to hear you say that while failing so miserably." Merkamou was suddenly behind Isamu, and gave him a swat across the backside with the flat of his blade. "Stop trying to show off and fight. Nobody is here to watch."

"She would not laugh at me. Not now."

"You think not? The merlin does have quite a sense of humor. I believe she would find this most amusing. Put that down before you hurt yourself." A snap of the hawk's wrist knocked Isamu's left handed weapon away.

"She would tell you to watch your mouth." Isamu gave up on the second weapon and focused on his single blade. His voice was full of bragging as he taunted his opponent. "She would be cheering for my victory."

"This is an interesting theory. Why would the merlin do this?"

"You have not seen how she is when we are alone."

Merkamou froze. "How is that, cub?"

"She would be most upset if you injured me. Especially my hands."

"So you will take a ningen as your mate?"

"Of course not. She is not a miko like Kagome-sama, the lords would never accept her. But she is quite attractive, and soft, and very sweet."

"So you are leading her on."

"Nothing of the sort. I have said nothing to her that would imply that I would take her as a mate."

"You bastard. You are toying with her. She is an honorable lady, and she would expect that you would behave in an honorable fashion in return!"

"I have done nothing wrong. A few stolen kisses will not ruin her. It is not like any would want a female as sharp as that one, even with a mouth as talented as hers."

Isamu went flying through the air to smash into a tree, cracking it down the center. He staggered to his feet, staring at the enraged taiyoukai.

"You will pay for hurting her." Merkamou sheathed his blade and relied on his fists. Punching the idiot in the stomach dropped him to his knees, gasping for air. An elbow to his back drove him into the ground. "You will never touch her again."

A fist swung at Merkamou, forcing him to block. Isamu climbed to his feet, his ice blue eyes bleeding to red. "How dare you attack me?"

Seeing the threat pushed the hawk over the edge. His own eyes darkened as he circled his opponent. Isamu recovered his weapon while Merkamou left his hands empty.

Lunging in a wild attack, Isamu tried to run Merkamou through. The weapon only found thin air, leaving him open for another hit. Grabbing the hawk's extended arm allowed Isamu to pull him in closer and dig his claws in.

A powerful grip closed around Isamu's sword arm, forcing him to drop the weapon. Talons were digging in, causing blood to run down his arm. Snarling, Isamu tried to break away. He kicked Merkamou in the knee, forcing his opponent to let go.

The rivals separated, glaring at each other as blood dripped into the grass. Isamu charged again, only to be knocked back by a wave of blistering wind.

"Weakling. You should know better than to attack an adult taiyoukai." A second wave of wind threw Isamu into the same tree, knocking the tree over. "As soon as you promise to never touch her again I will stop."

"She is not yours!"

"And she will never be yours." Merkamou let a whirlwind of air toss his opponent into the sky, burning the leopard's skin. "You cannot win. I have spent hundreds of years perfecting my control in battle, while you cannot even control yourself."

Pulling himself up from the ground, Isamu snarled. "I am not weak." Sparks appeared around Isamu's hands, giving warning of his next move.

The bolt of lighting burned the ground black, but Merkamou was not there. "Not fast enough."

Isamu went flying through the air again, courtesy of a fist in his stomach.

"You will not hurt her. She may never be mine, but I will protect her."

----

"Did you hear that?"

"It sounded like a crash." Kagome went to her feet, turning her head to try and locate the sound.

"I think it came from the gardens." Rin moved to the window, sliding it open, "Huh, I think I have found the source. Merkamou just threw Isamu into a tree."

"Nani?"

Both of the women watched as Isamu and Merkamou locked again before separating and glaring at each other.

"Um, Kagome-chan, are they bleeding?"

"What are those idiots doing? Kumo, can you take Katsuro? Come on, Rin-chan. I think the boys have gotten carried away."

Out in the courtyard Kagome felt the wind pick up, tossing her hair about. "Uh-oh." She took off at a run with Rin struggling to keep up.

She arrived in time to see Isamu launch a lightning attack at Merkamou, and be slammed into the air for his troubles.

"You will not hurt her. She may never be mine, but I will protect her."

"Merkamou!"

The sound of Rin's voice brought Merkamou to a halt. Ignoring his adversary and the miko, he turned to find Rin staring at him, wheezing from her sprint.

"You are not supposed to be running, merlin."

"And you are not supposed to be trying to kill . . . look out!"

Spinning, Merkamou saw that his adversary had found his weapon and was charging. Before the hawk could react the cub slammed into a pink barrier and fell to the ground.

"All right, trouble maker, what is this all about?" Kagome marched up to Merkamou and glared at him with her hands on her hips.

Glancing at Rin, Merkamou tried to think of an answer. Rin was looking from the downed leopard and back at him, confusion in every line. "He said something objectionable."

"About who? Who are you protecting?"

'Of course she heard that. I have no luck.' Shoulders slumped as Merkamou accepted his defeat. "The merlin."

"Me? What did he say about me?" Rin's eyes focused on Merkamou.

"He has no intentions of developing a relationship. And there was a vulgar comment that I will not repeat. His intentions were not honorable, merlin."

"Nani? Isamu, is this true?"

"I never said that I would take you as a mate. How could I? I just could not help it, you were so innocent."

"Of course, Isamu-sama. You did not say anything of the sort. You would never even consider it. However, unless you would like for Sesshomaru-sama to continue the lesson Merkamou-sama started today, keep your damn mouth shut." With a final glare Rin marched back to the palace.

"I will know if you talk, Isamu. And Sesshomaru may not be able to save you if I find out." Kagome dropped her barrier. "Merkamou-sama, thank you for defending her. However, stop destroying the gardens every time you visit."

Lips twitched as Merkamou tried to smile. "Of course, Kagome-sama." He moved to the palace, needing some time alone to bring his temper back under control.

"You, back to the palace, and stay away from Rin. Understood?"

"Hai, Kagome-sama."

----

"What is it?"

"My mate is very annoyed with something." Sesshomaru paused, trying to figure out if she needed help. "She seems to have regained control of the situation."

"I am certain she has. Your mate is a formidable woman." Hideaki moved some of the tokens from his hand to the sand table in front of him. "I have several mounted units that will be ready to ride."

Mizuki was perched on a stool, watching with fascination as the two lords discussed strategy. While her sister loved combat, Mizuki loved strategy. As soon as she was old enough to not try to eat the tokens she had been allowed to follow her father into the map room. The stool had been brought in so she could see over the side of the sand table and reach tokens in the middle. The generals were used to the silent observer who was studying every move they made.

"So, you have decided to join the battle." While Hideaki was not an ally like Merkamou, Sesshomaru hoped that the neighbor to the North would help crush the dragon.

"How could I not? I will not leave that disease to strike at me when I am not ready. My forces will join yours and Merkamou's. However, Ryuutaisho is ready for this. By sending his son he made it nearly impossible to avoid war. I do not like doing exactly what he wants."

"Nor do I."

"Some will say we are foolish for walking into this trap with open eyes."

"They will not say so while I am listening." Moving tokens in the sand, Sesshomaru rearranged some of the troops.

"And what are you doing there, Sesshomaru?"

"Anvil." Sapphire eyes were narrowed, studying the table. The whisper was not missed by Hideaki.

"Well, what do you see, Mizuki-san?"

A nod from her father gave her permission to speak. "That group is the anvil, and your mounted units are the hammer. The enemy will engage, and be stopped by the force with Sesshomaru. The mounted units will strike from the side, here. With the mountain on the other side the troops will only have one way to go, and that is retreat. It will only work if the troops are surprised though, so that the mounted troops can do more damage and cause chaos. I have seen one of father's generals use this strategy."

"Ah, good eyes, pup. The Western Lands will have two tacticians in the near future."

"Arigato, Hideaki-sama." Mizuki flicked her eyes down, blushing. Sure, she knew Hideaki was humoring her a little, but it was nice to be included in the discussion.

The faint smell of blood was coming from the corridor. Sliding open the door revealed a limping Isamu to Sesshomaru. "Isamu, you are injured."

"Merkamou-sama and I got carried away while practicing, nothing more, my lord."

Hideaki moved into the hall, checking his son over. "Go and clean up. You cannot go to dinner in that state."

"Hai, father." Isamu continued down the hall and disappeared around a corner.

"One day, Sesshomaru, you will have the joys of dealing with a nearly grown son."

"There are still many years until that time."

"Not nearly enough. Trust me."

----

"I'm sorry, but Sesshomaru and Mizuki will not be able to join us for dinner tonight." Kagome sat in usual place at dinner.

"They are most likely in the map room planning the conquest of Japan." Hideaki smiled at his hostess from across the table.

Most taiyoukai did not know that hanyous would become human for one night out of the month, and would not wonder at Mizuki's absence. They would also not know that Sesshomaru would not leave his daughter's side that night, and would not sleep. Mizuki and Sesshomaru were in Mizuki's room and would not leave it until dawn tomorrow.

Hideaki was somewhat oblivious to the tension at the table. With Sango back home to see her family before war could take her away again and the old geezers already gone, he was the only one that did not know about the scene in the gardens that day. Isamu was focusing on his meal, trying to not make eye contact with anyone.

Rin was also focusing on her meal. When she did look up she found Merkamou watching her. She gave him a small smile before returning her eyes to her food.

_You will not hurt her. She may never be mine, but I will protect her._

'What was that all about? I may never be his? Were they fighting because of Isamu's behavior, or over me? No, that's impossible. Isamu would never fight over someone that he did not have any feelings for, and Merkamou knows that he cannot have me. I wish he could have me.'

Chopsticks fell out of Rin's hand and tumbled to the floor while she blushed furiously. Scrambling to retrieve the wayward utensils sent her under the low table. A pair of gold eyes peered under the table at her, smiling. One of her chopsticks was pushed across to where she could reach it. Resurfacing, Rin found Kagome staring at her and Hideaki trying to not laugh. "Nani?"

"I'm not sure where you mind is right now, Rin-chan. All of a sudden your chopsticks went flying off and you tried to fit under the table. Are you with us?"

'No, my mind is most definitely not here. It is roaming about and finding unacceptable places to dwell.' Glaring at her plate, Rin tucked her escaping hair back behind her ears. "Hai, Kagome-chan."

"Kagome-sama?"

"Kumo? What is it?" Kagome moved away from the table to join her assistant by the door way.

"A party has arrived, and will not identify themselves to any except for you." Kumo handed a note out to her lady. "They gave me this note for you."

"It sounds like a trap." Hideaki rose from the table to join Kagome. "Kumo, are you sure you do not know who these visitors are?"

"No, my lord. They would not speak. They are just outside of the gates." Kumo's eyes stayed on her lady's as she spoke.

"Impossible." Kagome held the note with shaking hands, staring at the writing. "Everyone stay here. Kumo, come with me."

Kagome ran out of the room, clutching the note in her hand. Her assistant ran with her, confusion warring with obedience. Orders were ringing out across the courtyard in Kagome's voice. "Open the gates!"

In the flickering light of torches a group of five hooded figures could be seen. Four surrounded the fifth, obviously guards. Kagome slid to a stop, staring at the figure in the middle. The figure moved forward, stepping into the light of the torches. A blue taloned hand appeared, holding something out to Kagome. Cautiously, Kagome held out her own hand.

A sakura blossom dropped into it.

Kagome's voice was no more than a whisper. "Akira-sama?"


	42. Second Best

A/N: Well, it looks like I need a beta. I had one, but we have lost contact and I have a couple of chapters that I am working on that absolutely refuse to submit! -tackles computer to the floor- Anyways, if anyone thinks they can keep up with my writing rate, and who wants a preview of what's coming, let me know. It won't necessarily be a chapter a day, but I'm working about six chapters ahead so there will be some catching up to do. I own nothin'. Nothin' at all. It's tax season, so I own nothing.

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"Akira-sama?"

The figure pushed her hood back, smiling. "Kagome-sama. I am very relieved to see you."

"It's really you. How did you get here? What are you doing here?"

"Kagome-sama!"

Kagome turned her head to find her dinner companions running across the courtyard. She rolled her eyes before turning to face them, much to Akira's amusement. "What part of stay there did you not understand?"

Isamu's hand was on his blade, making Akira's guards tense and go for their own weapons. Kumo's hand went to her obi, finding her dagger, and moving between the two groups. Seeing the tension and the large number of weapons made Kagome wave her hands and move in front of Akira. "Stop it! Hideaki-sama, it is not a trap. Isamu, get your hand off of that hilt this instant! This is a guest of mine."

Akira had not moved through the entire scene, but continued to watch with a collected expression. She noticed that Kagome and Kumo had moved into defensive positions, keeping the new arrivals away. It was a relief to see that her ally seemed to trust her.

"Akira-sama, this is Merkamou-sama, Lord of the South. This is Hideaki-sama, Lord of the North and his son, Isamu. On this side is Sesshomaru's ward, Lady Rin, and this is my assistant Kumo-san. Everybody, this is Akira-sama, Lady of the East." Kagome took a deep breath and made sure that a barrier was ready to spring into place if any of the guests went for each other.

"Lady of the . . . " Merkamou stared, his mouth hanging open. "Does Ryuutaisho know you are here?"

The beautiful lady bowed to the group. "No, my lord, he does not. I am certain that he will figure it out eventually, but it will take a few weeks until my absence is noted."

"Why are you here?" Hideaki's hands were hidden inside of his sleeves, making the guards very tense.

"I have decided to end my partnership with Ryuutaisho. I was not able to stop his latest outrages, and I believe that the only way to stop him now is to bring about his downfall."

The response was a row of blank stares. Kagome gave up and waved them out of her way. "Come in, Akira-sama. I'm certain that you're tired after your journey, and dinner was just served. My mate is indisposed right now, but I'll make sure he meets with you first thing in the morning."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Kagome-sama." Akira's guards relaxed slightly and followed her into the palace.

The Captain was standing at the doors with part of Kagome's guard. "Kagome-sama, is everything well?"

"Everything is fine, Captain. We have a few more guests that will be staying. This is Akira-sama, Lady of the East." Kagome sighed as the Captain gave her a shocked look before bowing. "We are going to return to our meal. Kumo, can you arrange for rooms for our new guests and let Sesshomaru know?"

"Hai, Kagome-sama." Kumo whispered something to the Captain, who shook his head. Glaring, Kumo whispered again, and got another shake of the head. A sharp poke to the Captain's arm got him moving, preceding Kumo down the hall towards the guest quarters. Kagome's guard eyeballed Akira's guard, both groups looking for a threat.

"Dinner." Kagome pointed into the dining hall, commanding the lords to go in, sit down, and behave with that single word. Rin stayed at Kagome's side, watching the new guest. "Rin-chan, I do not need another guard. Go sit down. Akira-sama will be joining us for the remainder of the meal."

"Hai, Kagome-chan." The sight of another dragon taiyoukai had set Rin on edge, watching her for any sign of a threat.

"I take it that Rin-san was involved in the defeat of my son." Akira met the young warrior's eyes, seeing the unease in the younger female's expression.

"Hai, Akira-sama. She and Merkamou-sama brought him down." The miko avoided Akira's eyes, guilty over the death of her son. The two ladies sat next to each other as servants rushed out a meal for Akira.

Silence ruled as the guests stared at each other. Hideaki was still watching for a threat, as was Rin. Merkmaou was amused to see Rin pretending to eat but missing her plate half of the time. Next to Hideaki, Isamu was watching Akira, but not with the eyes of someone looking for a threat. He looked fascinated. The look was not lost on Rin.

'Sure, I am not worth looking at when others are around, but the taiyoukai that just walked in? Fascinating.' Rin gave Isamu a glare, which was lost on the cub completely.

With the concealing hood removed, the lady was stunning. Her dark blue hair was neatly pulled back, a small tendril trailing loose. Her skin had a faint, golden glow with a single, thin blue line running diagonally across her face. The journey had done nothing to disarray her clothing, her presentation as perfect as though she had just come from court.

"Akira-sama, what are your plans now?" Hideaki's voice finally broke the silence, making several of the diners jump.

"I wish to see the downfall of Ryuutaisho, and I believed that this would be the location where I would do the most good. I am almost certain that Sesshomaru-sama will be marching against the East soon, and I wish to assist him in this." Cool blue eyes with slit pupils in green focused on Hideaki. "I do know some things about his army and strategy."

"How do you expect us to trust you?" Merkamou did not sound tense or angry, just curious.

"That would be the other reason why I chose to come here. I have had an alliance with Kagome-sama for a few years now, and I was hopeful that she would trust my intentions."

"Of course I do, Akira-sama. You warned me about the assassin, and we have worked together many times before. I'm not surprised that you left." The miko gave the taiyoukai lady a sympathetic smile, trying to put her at ease.

"If Kagome-sama says that you are to be trusted, then you are to be trusted." Merkamou returned to his meal without a second thought on the matter.

Hideaki did seem to be completely sold, but he did remove his hands from his sleeves and return to his meal. The tension in the room eased, making the silence much more comfortable. After the meal was over Kagome met Kumo in the hallway. Akira's room was ready, and a servant was waiting there to assist her. The guards had been assigned space in the barracks, but two were still there to follow Akira. Kagome's guard was still glaring at them, engaging in a silent battle. The miko cleared her throat at her personal guard, making them look away sheepishly.

"Akira-sama, we have rooms ready for you so that you can rest after your journey." Kagome was all set to lead her guest herself, but she was interrupted.

"Kagome-sama, I can show Akira-sama to her room. It would be an honor." Isamu bowed to Akira, his eyes looking hopeful as he watched her.

Hideaki and Kagome both gave the cub questioning looks. Akira seemed to be pleased with the idea, though. "Arigato, Isamu-sama."

With a gallant gesture, Isamu escorted Akira down the corridor towards the guest rooms. Her room was next to Hideaki's and across from Isamu's. The guards marched after them, watching the youngster.

'Jerk. Just last night he was kissing me under the stars, and now he is escorting Akira to her rooms and ignoring me completely. He certainly never acted like that around me.' Rin's hands clenched as she watched the couple disappear. "Kagome-chan, I am going to my room."

Her heart was breaking for her adopted daughter. Kagome watched Rin stomp away, obviously upset by Isamu's behavior with Akira. Hideaki bowed to her before following after his son, concerned. That left her with Merkamou and her guards. The guards scattered when she gave them a look.

"I would have never seen that coming." Merkamou shook his head, refocusing on the miko. "Ryuutaisho will be furious that his own mate has deserted him."

"I know. But she wants to help. I could never turn her away. It's not like the relationship between Ryuutaisho and Sesshomaru could get any worse."

"True. And now you have another guest. Perhaps you will reconsider joining me for a drink."

"You have no idea how tempting that is, but not tonight. I need to see Sesshomaru. Try again tomorrow if it is half as exciting as today was."

"I shall, Kagome. May I ask where Sesshomaru and his pup are? Are they safe?"

Sigh. Merkamou was a trusted friend of the family. Kagome glanced around to make sure that they were alone. "It's Mizuki's human night. She is human until dawn, and Sesshomaru will not leave her side until then. She gets very upset on this night."

"Ah. Then you should be returning to them. I will see you in the morning." Merkamou gave her a brilliant smile and a friendly clap on the shoulder before departing.

Kagome smiled after him, glad to have him around. Rash, impulsive, and sometimes violent, but loyal as they come. And very, very protective of his merlin. 'I heard what he said. I bet he has feelings for Rin, and he knows that he can't act on them. What a tangled web. Wait a minute, why can't he act on them? Sesshomaru would not refuse Rin as a Lady, and I think we could get Hideaki to agree to it. Ryuutaisho is about to be destroyed, leaving Akira as the ruler. She is going to owe me this time, and I could get her to agree. Hmm. Maybe I'm reading too much into this. It's not like Merkamou to hold back. Besides, I don't want Rin to be in the same spot I am, with her children living for centuries while she only has a few decades. No, I do not want her to go through that. He may be just an overly protective uncle. I arranged a meeting between him and Lady Sora for tomorrow. I'll keep that meeting, and watch him. If he doesn't look interested, then I know he wants Rin. If he takes after Sora, then I know he's just protective. This sucks.'

Sesshomaru was sitting on the floor in Mizuki's room, leaning against the wall and watching over his pup. The usually silver hair was now black, and the fluffy ears were gone. Mizuki was sleeping fitfully on her bed, the blankets pulled up to just under her nose. Kagome sank down to sit next to her mate.

"I have heard that we have another guest."

"Hai." Kagome slumped against his side. "How did we end up so popular?"

"This was not a problem until you arrived."

Raspberry blown at the great taiyoukai. "At least this guest is here to help."

"Are you certain, Kagome?"

"I am."

Sesshomaru ran his fingers through a lock of Kagome's hair. "It is a risk to allow her to stay."

"I know, but she did warn us of the assassin, and has helped me other times."

"Very well, she can stay. I will trust your judgment on this matter."

"Arigato, jo-chan."

The low growl that rumbled through his chest made Kagome vibrate as well. He had never accepted his pet name. She rose to check on Katsuro, curled up in a nest of blankets next to Mizuki. Both of the pups were sleeping still. Their mother moved back to her mate's side and settled next to him. Her eyes drifted shut, relaxing in his embrace.

----

"Akira-sama, this is my mate Sesshomaru."

The two taiyoukai were watching each other with cold eyes. Akira had her chin up, looking Sesshomaru in the eye while he sized her up. Her appearance was perfect, with not a strand out of place. The contrast between Akira and the tiny miko next to her was spectacular. Sesshomaru gave her a sharp nod of his head, then sat at his desk. "Why are you here."

"Ryuutaisho has become impossible to control, and he needs to be removed."

"You wish for my help in taking his position."

"Of course, my lord." Akira settled on a cushion across from him, keeping the eye contact.

"And why should we give that position to you. If we defeat Ryuutaisho, then we can place whomever we choose as the new Lord."

"The East already knows me, and would be more willing to follow me. My family is powerful, and will support my rule. And I would make a much more biddable neighbor then my mate, especially if it is your assistance that helps to gain my position."

"Hn."

"Ryuutaisho has done just as many outrages in his own lands as he has yours. It would not be difficult for me to assume power, if he were removed. Who else would you place there?"

'Damn, she knows that she is the best option, since the nobles will settle much more quickly with her than anyone from another Lord.' Sesshomaru made a quick reassessment of the female in front of him. "I hope that you have more to offer then that."

"Of course, my lord. I have been watching his preparations for war over the last six months, and have been able to have several letters regarding strategy 'misplaced' into my hands. I am willing to give you all of the information that I have access to, and the support of the troops that are loyal to my family."

"And what guarantee do I have that you will not attack my lands after you have established yourself? It is my lands that will bear the brunt of this war."

"I will sign a treaty with you, stating that I will not attack your lands for a set amount of time, and it will include terms to renegotiate the treaty at its end."

'I rather like this female.' Sesshomaru stared at Akira, trying to see any sign of dishonesty. "Very well, Akira-sama. If you are willing to uphold your end of the agreement, then I will place you in Ryuutaisho's position."

"Arigato, my lord." Akira bowed herself out, meeting with her guard in the hallway.

Kagome detached herself from the wall and took the cushion that Akira had vacated. "Well, I think she's telling the truth. What do you think?"

"I think that she is telling the truth, in that her mate has become uncontrollable and she does not agree with his decisions. She is also hungry for his position, to rule the East on her own. I will do nothing without a treaty, but she is the best choice to take over."

"It can't be worse than Ryuutaisho."

"Very true. She would be a vast improvement as a neighbor. I would not call her a friendly neighbor, but it may be possible to coexist with her."

"So you are going to help her?"

"If she is willing to uphold her side of the agreement, she will have Ryuutaisho's position after he is destroyed."

Kagome started to pull apart a report, making her mate snatch it away. "And you are sure we will win?"

"I will not lose."

----

"Merkamou-sama, may I introduce the Lady Sora."

The female bowing before him was exquisite. Her long, chestnut hair was arranged in curls and loops set with gold pins. The eyes that peeked at him from underneath outrageous eyelashes were a deep green, shining with humor. There were twin stripes on each cheek in a soft green. She wore her elaborate clothing with ease, her movements polished and well practiced. The soft green and gold of her kimono complimented her features and gave the impression of a perfectly presented jewel.

'Bah. I will get you for this, Kagome.' Merkamou nodded his head to the female, allowing her to straighten.

"It is an honor, my lord." Sora's voice was melodic, soft, and controlled.

"Perhaps you will join us for a walk?" Merkamou offered an arm to her, carefully hiding the face he made at Kagome over his shoulder.

"If it pleases you, my lord."

Kagome followed the couple, trying to give them enough distance to actually engage in a conversation but stay close enough to play chaperone. She ignored Merkamou's faces, hopeful that this female would keep him entertained long enough to catch his affections.

"Perhaps you could tell me something of yourself, Sora-sama." Merkamou braced himself for giggling and simpering.

"As you please, my lord. I am the daughter of a general, and cousin to Sesshomaru-sama. I am the oldest of my father's daughters. It is a large family, with six sisters and two brothers." Sora paused to admire a flower.

"Nine? Your father is a brave general indeed."

"Oh, hai, especially as he is outnumbered by the females eight to three. I do enjoy having a large family, even if it is difficult to find time to myself."

'Well, at least she can hold a conversation. That is a major improvement. I probably owe Kagome an apology now.' Following Sora through the gardens, he listened to her description of her family.

"May I be permitted a question, my lord?" Sora kept her eyes down, as was expected of a proper lady.

"Hai, Sora-sama."

"The rumor is that you are an excellent story teller, my lord. Would you consider telling a story of your family for me?"

'She wants to hear about my family? Most unusual.' Merkamou rifled through his mind for an appropriate story. "My family is not nearly as large as your own. Both of my sisters are now mated and raising families of their own. Sometimes they will descend on my home, with all of my nieces and nephews in tow to decimate everything in their path."

Sora watched him with fascination as he told stories about his nieces and nephews. Merkamou found himself asking her questions as they walked, finding a bench to sit on under a magnolia tree. She regaled him with stories of her large, active family. Kagome was forgotten as she stayed out of sight, letting the two talk until the sun was low in the sky.

Seeing the late hour, Merkamou escorted Sora back up to the palace. "If it pleases you, Sora-sama, I would like to talk with you again."

Blushing, Sora hid behind a fan. "It would be a great pleasure and honor, my lord."

Merkamou watched as Sora disappeared through a door, leaving him with Kagome in the reception hall.

"Not too bad, huh?" Kagome poked him in the arm.

"No, I have been through much worse." Rubbing his arm, Merkamou thought of the female that he had just spent several hours talking to. "Interesting, charming, and rather entertaining. She is nothing compared to you, of course."

Kagome giggled at the extravagant bow that went with the compliment. "Stop that, trouble maker. I'm taken."

"And you do not have a sister, so I will work with what is available. And this Sora was pleasant company. I would like to see her again. She is far less aggravating then the females I was introduced to in my own court."

"I'll arrange it. I want you to be happy, Merkamou."

"Arigato, Kagome. I will retire to my rooms until dinner. Until then."

'They were so cute together. What amazingly attractive children they would have! This could work, it just might work. A cousin of Sesshomaru, beautiful and entertaining. It better work!'

'But what about Rin?'

'You! Be quiet. I know it's none of my business, but I'm not even sure Merkamou wants her. And what kind of a life would that be? I wouldn't stop him from taking her for a mate, but if he takes Sora it would be so much easier for everyone. Including Rin. I'm going to give myself a headache at this rate. I'll set up the next meeting with Sora and let him make up his own mind.'

----


	43. Not Fair

A/N: Patience, Mr. J. I'm having my sappy fun first! Humor me. blackXheart, grab an airsickness bag before you start. Fair warning. Oh, and a big thank you to all of my reviewers! A special thank you to LynGreenTea for being the very first to review me, and still with me! I own nada.

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'Not bad. I could probably put up with her for a couple of centuries. And after I have my own brood we could avoid each other as much as we needed to. It is the best option I have had so far.' Merkamou sat in a tree, staring at the waning moon and watching for shooting stars. 'No, it is not the situation I wanted, but I knew it was coming. The second that messenger showed up with that note, all of those years ago.'

Unbidden, the memory pushed to the front of his mind. He had been the second son, never meant to rule. He had enjoyed his weapons lessons, and had helped his brother with strategy, but it had always been his brother in the lead. Merkamou had been free to enjoy life while his brother was the responsible one. Then the messenger arrived. His father and brother were both dead in combat, and he was now the Lord of the Southern Lands at the tender age of 153.

In that instant his life had gone from simple and promising to a nightmare of choices and overwhelming responsibilities. His first crush had been on a low ranking noble's daughter, a girl that had tackled him when he stole her fan while they were both chicks. His mother's reaction had been horror. Absolutely forbidden. He would marry a taiyoukai female, one of power and position.

'Like Sora.' A soft breath blew feathers away from his face, set in the unusual expression of melancholy. Sesshomaru may prefer his mask to be blank, but Merkamou chose one of gaiety. Alone, his lack of choices pushed him into a dark mood. He knew who he wanted at his side, but it was not possible. His mother may not rule, but she had power. His little crush had suddenly left the court, and Merkamou never did find out what had become of her. Mother would never accept a ningen. Hideaki would not accept Rin as a Lady, either. He would accept her as a ward, and a fighter, but not as a mate. There would be no more hanyous as heirs.

A shooting star blazed across the sky, bringing a smile to the hawk's lips. He still liked to wish on shooting stars. A silent wish followed the star as it descended towards the Earth. Merkamou did not actually believe that wishing on stars worked, but he could not help himself. One never knew.

He spotted movement at the palace, a window opening. A figure slipped out. The white clothing glowed in the moonlight, standing out brilliantly to the hawk's sharp eyes. The figure was walking across the grounds, heading towards his tree. A closer inspection showed that it was Rin, dressed in a robe. As she came closer he could hear her uneven breathing, the little hitches in her chest. His merlin was crying.

Rin did not even glance at the tree she settled against. She simply dropped to the ground, leaned back against the tree, and stared at the moon with tears running down her face. 'Damn him. Damn him to hell for doing this to me. I thought he cared. I truly did. No, I never thought he loved me, but he should have had some feelings for me. He just wanted to kiss me because it had never happened before. Jerk.'

"You are lucky that I am not a threat, merlin."

'Of course. Like I could ever go anywhere without bumping into someone.' Rin turned her eyes up into the tree and spotted Merkamou amongst the branches. "What are you doing?"

"Watching for shooting stars. And you?"

"Not much. Plotting Isamu's death."

Chuckling was coming from the tree. "Maim, do not kill. Hideaki would be very cross to lose his only son, even if he is an idiot."

"I guess that means that I cannot castrate him either. Did you see the way he was staring at Akira? I thought his eyes were going to fall out of his head."

"She is an attractive lady, and a mystery to him."

Growling, Rin glared up at Merkamou. "Not helping."

"I am sorry, merlin, but that is what happened. Akira will be able to deal with him, and since his intentions towards you were not honorable I say let her have him."

"He wants her because she is a taiyoukai, and if we defeat Ryuutaisho her mate will be Lord of the East. Power, beauty, breeding, she has got it all." Even Rin thought she sounded catty, but it did not stop her.

There was a creak as Merkamou moved so that he could look down at Rin with more ease. "I have said this before. His loss."

"Yes, great, his loss. Then why am I single, and he is moving on to his next conquest already? It is cold comfort, Merkamou."

"You will find somebody . . . "

". . . who wants me exactly as I am. I am so tired of hearing that. I will die of old age before I find this person!" Quiet sobs were starting to escape Rin again, despite her attempts to hold them back.

There was another creak above her, then Merkamou was standing next to her. Sinking to the ground, he sat next to her with his back against the tree. Rin steadied her breathing, forcing control.

"How was your meeting with Lady Sora?"

Now it was Merkamou's turn to sigh. "It went well. She is pleasant, and knows how to hold a conversation. This is something of a find in the females that I have had thrown at me."

"So you will court her?"

"I will meet her again, to be certain. I do not think I will have much of a choice in the matter. I have ruled for almost two hundred years with no mate. The court is becoming restless at the lack of an heir. Sora is pleasant enough, and has the family to make my mother happy. Now that I have announced my intention to find a mate I need to accept one. She is not bad."

"How romantic. Not bad. Feh." Rin crossed her arms and glared at nothing.

"We have had this conversation. I cannot just choose whoever I wish." Merkamou looked towards the palace and away from Rin, not able to talk about this while looking at her.

"And I told you that it was an evasion." Rin's heart contracted at the sad expression on the usually cheerful face. The gold eyes were looking away from her, giving her the chance to gaze at him without being noticed. He was not as tall as the other taiyoukai, but still taller than she was. Strong was an easy description, with lean coming in as a close second. The cheek she could see had a red streak across it, shaped like a flame. It was a strong face that was framed by the red hair and feathers, one that had been haunting her dreams at night.

"If I wanted to give up my title, then yes I could take whoever I wanted. But what would happen then? My oldest sister's mate would take my place, and within the week he would declare war against Sesshomaru. My lands would be decimated by wars that could not be won, because he does not like inu-youkai. Or my mother could regain control. She is a blood thirsty bitch, and would simply throw assassins and poison at any that offended her. I will not see my lands destroyed so that I can take the one I wish for."

"So there is someone!"

'How does this happen?' Merkamou kept his gaze on the palace, trying to ignore the animated ningen beside him.

"Who is it? Someone from your own lands? A commoner, perhaps?"

"No. She is a ningen."

"A ningen? That is bad. It would cost you your position to take her."

"Believe me, I know. I will court this Lady Sora, and if things go well I will take her as my mate."

"Who is she? How do you know her? Is she part of the court?" Rin's natural curiosity was getting the better of her.

"Enough, merlin! It does not matter! She does not know, and will never know."

"That seems very sad to me. She should know that you wanted her."

"Why? It would just hurt her." Without thinking about it, Merkamou's eyes swung back to Rin's.

"She should know that someone like you cared for her that much." The usual cheerful voice was a husky whisper, her eyes locked with Merkamou's. 'I would want to know if it were me.' She saw a shooting star out of the corner of her eye, turning to focus on it. 'I wish it were me.'

Following her gaze, Merkamou saw the shooting star. He saw Rin's eyes following it across the sky, tears threatening to fall. "Would it mean that much to her?"

"I think it would."

A hand reached out to cup Rin's chin, turning her face to his own. "Merlin."

The world seemed to freeze as Rin's brain spun into overdrive. 'Holy Kami, is he talking about me?' The intense gold eyes were locked on hers while his fingers trailed over her jaw. He leaned in closer to her, meeting her lips in a kiss.

Of course Rin compared the two. Or, at least, she tried to, but there was no comparison. With Isamu it seemed to be an exercise, a new skill to learn. With Merkamou, she felt her heart flutter as her arms moved up to wrap around his neck. There was no hesitation, and Rin was the one to deepen the kiss, running her tongue along his lips to coax a response. Merkamou moaned into her mouth, making her body shiver with a new sensation. Her body was tense with a longing she did not understand.

She let her head fall back as Merkamou pressed his lips to her jawline, working down her neck. A soft moan escaped Rin as he pushed her robe aside so that he could proceed across her collarbone. Returning to her lips, he pulled her body against his while her fingers weaved through his hair and feathers.

Rin was straddling his lap, pressing her body against his as thought she wanted to become one with him. She never wanted to leave this moment, feeling his lips on hers, his hands moving across her back, his body crushed to hers. They broke apart to breathe, Merkamou's eyes locked on hers. "You know now."

"Hai."

Fingers were running through Rin's hair, making her eyes close at the delicious sensation of talons just barely brushing her scalp. Merkamou could not say anything to end this perfect moment. He did not want to end it, since he knew that he would not have another chance with her. But he would not dishonor her, at least not anymore than he had already. Deep breaths helped him to bring his body back under control.

"Merlin, we should return you to your . . ."

"No." The young warrior attacked him, seizing his mouth and pushing him onto his back. Her fingers were dug into his shoulders as she pressed against him, pinning him down. Merkamou's hands went around her out of instinct, holding her against him as she kissed him senseless. His pulse thundered in his ears, knocking all reason away. She was here, she wanted him, and this was there one night together.

Acting of their own accord, Merkamou's hands trailed down her body to savor her form. Her own hands stayed on his shoulders, ready to push him down again should he decide to move. Her robe was being inched up by his hands, exposing her legs to him. His hands found there way under the robe and to the soft skin of her hips. A moan was Rin's response, completely caught up in the moment.

"Shit!"

Rin and Merkamou both moved with the speed of trained fighters to get to their feet and straighten out their clothes.

Kagome had her jaw hanging loose, just staring. "I see nothing, I hear nothing. Lalalalalala!" She stuck her fingers in her ears and walked away.

"What is the big idea?" Rin had her hands on her face, blushing so hard she felt dizzy. "I can not do anything without my family catching on!"

"Merlin, I am sorry. I did not mean . . . "

"Stop it. I pushed you. This is what I wanted." Still facing away from him, Rin tried to steady her breathing. "Do not apologize unless you think this was a mistake."

"No, it was not a mistake." Merkamou took Rin's arm and turned her to face him.

"Tomorrow you will meet with Sora."

"I do not want to."

"I know." A watery smile went with Rin's words. "But I also know that you have to. I do not want you to be miserable, and if she is the best find you have had you should take her."

"But she is not who I want."

"Would you risk the lives of those you protect?"

Merkamou's head dropped, his eyes on the ground. "You know I could not. I did not want the responsibility, but it is mine. I can not leave them to my mother or my sister's mate."

"Then meet with Sora again." Rin pulled his head to hers, pressing a kiss to his lips. "I know now. It makes a difference, and I will never forget. How could I forget that someone like you wanted me?"

"Merlin, I . . ."

"Stop. We both have a duty to protect someone. I understand that. And if you throw it all away I will be very cross with you. If you think I did harm to you before, you have no idea what I will do when I am mad."

"Very well, merlin. I will honor my obligations." Merkamou raised a hand to trail through her hair. "It will be most difficult to see Sora as a potential mate now."

"You will find a way. Were you not the one that was bragging to me about your conquests, and how well they sleep?"

"I had forgotten about that, and your challenge to me." The hand in her hair slid down her back, pulling her up against him. "Do you still think I could not make you sleep through the night?"

"Uh . . ." Rin's brain was refusing to cooperate. 'Is he serious? Would I tell him no? There is no way I could tell him no.'

"You are speechless. Amazing."

Rin whacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow. Very well, I will hold off on my challenge a bit longer." Merkamou released Rin and backed away to a safe distance. "I should walk you back to your room. I would be willing to wager that Kagome is waiting for you to explain your behavior. I would rather have you explain than I, for she will throw me through walls until she likes my answers."

"Okay." Reluctantly, Rin followed Merkamou back to her window, still open to the night air.

"Good night, my merlin."

"Good night, Merkamou." Rin brushed her lips across his cheek, then climbed back through her window to slide it shut.

"You have some explaining to do." Kagome was sitting on the bed in the dark, waiting for Rin.

"Uh, hi Kagome!" Rin settled onto the bed next to her. "Nice night?"

"Yeah, but you won't believe what I saw. I saw the Lord of the South making out with Sesshomaru's ward in the garden, and her robe was up around her waist. Of course they were outside where anyone could see them."

"I can explain. Well, I think I can. We were talking about Sora, and he mentioned that there was someone else he wanted but could not have. And it was me."

"Oh, Rin-chan." Kagome put her arm around Rin's shoulders. "What did you say?"

"That I was glad I knew, and that he should take Sora."

"NANI!"

"Easy, you are going to wake the whole palace!" Rin clamped a hand over Kagome's mouth as she continued to sputter. "I do not want to explain this to Sesshomaru-sama!"

"Haf ou ost or mine?"

Rin pulled her hand back off of Kagome's mouth.

"Have you lost your mind? If he loves you, and you love him, then you should be together!"

"And risk the Southern Lands? He told me what would happen. His mother would be after both of us, and his sister's mate would be after his title. It is not like you and Sesshomaru-sama, he has family that will bring him down even if we could convince Hideaki and Akira's new mate. I do not want him to risk so many lives."

"Oh, jo-chan. This is not fair!"

Rin giggled at Kagome's standard line, fighting back her own tears. "No, it is not."

"What are we going to do?"

"We are going to help Merkamou find a mate that does not make him miserable, we will fight a war with him, and then we will send him back home with his mate to raise his family."

"I don't like that."

"Neither do I."

"When did you get so grown up, jo-chan?"

"I think it was in the last two days, Kagome-chan."

Kagome pulled Rin into a tight hug.

"You should go to bed before Sesshomaru-sama comes looking for you. He is going to want an explanation for the yelling."

"I'll make something up. Are you going to be okay for tonight?"

"Of course, Kagome-chan. Go."

Reluctantly, Kagome left for her own room.

'No, this is not fair at all.' Rin dragged her blankets over her head, burying herself in her bed. 'How am I going to face him tomorrow?'


	44. Revenge

A/N: Good news, blackXheart. Very little fluff for awhile! I seem to have it out of my system now. Just some spots here and there. Tracy, a love triangle? Does that seem too boring and predictable? I think we need some more angles. Quadrangle, or a pentangle. As you are all used to, I'm not saying one way or the other on the ending. Hell, I'm still debating on parts of it. But you know, I'm such a softie when it comes to making my readers happy. I am your little pet, and as long as you keep feeding me I'll keep writing. Even though I'm having a bit of writer's block now. I may have to take another week vacation. I hope not. Nothin's mine, you know the drill.

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'May your life be interesting is a nasty, nasty curse.' Kagome looked around the table, eyeballing the various personalities. Isamu was watching Akira with something close to awe, while she would give him the occasional glance. Merkamou was watching Rin, while Rin tried to ignore him in favor of talking to Mizuki. Sesshomaru was watching Akira, while trying to discuss supply shipments with Hideaki. And Kagome? She was getting dizzy trying to follow the conversations and was now keeping her eyes on her food until the world stopped that darn spinning.

"My son and I will be departing today to return to our own lands and make preparations. Ryuutaisho has been preparing for some time now, and I would like to have my troops ready to march as soon as possible." Hideaki smiled to Kagome, still the charmer.

"I will be sad to see you go, but we will be seeing each other again quite soon. Merkamou-sama, when are you planning to depart?" Kagome finally looked her mate's ally in the eye, breaking his attention away from Rin.

"I believe I will depart tomorrow. I have a few things that I need to finish before I can leave, but then I will need to return to my lands to organize my own forces. A messenger was sent to start preparations, but I will need to oversee the process." Merkamou had given up on catching Rin's eye, since she was very determined to never look his way.

"It will be so quiet. Akira-sama, will you be staying with us?"

"If you would allow it, Kagome-sama. I would like to be close, so that I can offer any assistance that I can." There was a genuine smile for Kagome, an expression that Akira only used with the miko.

"Of course, Akira-sama, you can stay as long as you like."

After the meal, Hideaki caught up with Kagome in the corridor. "Kagome-sama, may I ask a rather personal question?"

"I suppose so, Hideaki-sama." Kagome shifted, trying to see if this was going to be embarrassing.

"Do you intend to march east with your mate?"

"Of course, my lord."

"And what will you be doing with your pups?"

Kagome froze. The pups could not come with them, and all of the usual caretakers would be with Sesshomaru. "I'm not sure, actually."

"May I suggest something? I was going to offer my home to you and your pups, but since you will be with your mate, I will offer my home to your pups. My mate will be there, and she can watch over your young ones."

"Really? Are you sure that your lady would not mind?"

"It would be an honor to watch over Sesshomaru-sama's offspring. My mate has two daughters that are still with her, and Mizuki-sama might enjoy spending time with other females with the same status as herself. My youngest is close enough in age that they will have some things in common." Hideaki smiled. 'They will be much safer in my fortress, far to the north. My mate may not wish to fight, but she can be quite vicious when protecting young ones. She will skin me alive if I do not make sure that the pups are somewhere safe.'

"I will bring it up to Sesshomaru and see what he thinks. I think that we will take you up on that offer. It is very kind, and I really appreciate it, Hideaki-sama."

"It is the least I could do, after my son's behavior. This visit has been enlightening. I think he has become rather spoilt at my court."

"Ya think?" Kagome clamped her hand over her mouth, blushing.

"I do. This trip has been good for him, but I am rather reluctant to return him to my own home so soon, before your family can finish his correction."

"How about this for a plan. I will send my pups to stay at your home, and in exchange we will take Isamu."

"Nani?" Hideaki tipped his head to the side and stared at the miko.

"Not a permanent trade. He can stay here while you are at your home taking care of preparations. Call it an apprenticeship. You can leave him under Sesshomaru's care, and that should take care of any spoilt behaviors."

"Intriguing. It would be good for my son to be somewhere where he is not the heir, but a guest. A ward of Sesshomaru-sama, just like Rin-san. That would be very good for him, I believe. And I would hope that you would also help with this apprenticeship."

"Of course, Hideaki-sama. We will make a trade until the war is over, the care of my pups for apprenticing your son. Everyone will come out ahead on this one."

"A fair deal. Shall we make a wager on how often Rin-san flattens my son while I am gone?"

"Try that one on Merkamou-sama, my lord."

----

"Everybody is leaving. It's time for us to go see Bokusenou."

"This is not a good time, Kagome." Sesshomaru looked up from the map he had been studying.

Kagome slapped both of her hands in the middle of the map, blocking her mates view. "And it will never be a good time. We just need to go!"

Glaring, Sesshomaru pushed her hands out of the way. "This can wait."

"No it can not! Rin can watch the pups until we get back, and then they will be off to Hideaki's home. We need to take care of this before we leave, and now is the time!" The two glared at each other, trying to force the other to look down. "How long would it take to get to Bokusenou?"

"It would take a day if I flew. We would be gone for a minimum of two days."

"Fine, we leave tomorrow. We will be back in time to deal with your war. Information first! I am not going to go fight without knowing what the heck is going on!"

Suddenly Sesshomaru was standing directly in front of her, staring down at her. "You will not be fighting."

"I beg your pardon? What did you say?"

"Do not pretend that you cannot hear me."

Kagome's aura was up, snapping. "I'm going with you."

"And you will be staying behind the lines. If it is true that our lives have the same span, I have even more reason to protect you. You will stay out of danger."

"Like hell I will. You die, I die. I'm staying with you. I can help, you know."

Kagome found herself in the rather familiar position of balancing on her toes while Sesshomaru held her by her haori. "I will not die, unless you are killed. You will stay behind."

"Do you want me to throw you through a wall? One of these days you are going to learn you can't just throw me around! You can't control me!"

"I can wait until you are exhausted." Pulling her further off of the ground, Sesshomaru growled down at her.

"Last warning. Put me down."

Mizuki was walking towards the map room when she was nearly knocked off of her feet. Her father flew through the wall, landing in front of her. Without a word he jumped back through the wall, drawing Tokijin as he faced off with Kagome. "You will not be fighting."

"Why don't you come over here and say that, baka!" Kagome had her barrier up, waiting for the next attack. Sesshomaru could bring her barrier down fairly quickly with Tokijin, but she could make it very painful for him in the process.

"Mama? Father?" Mizuki peered through the hole in the wall, watching as Sesshomaru took a swing at the barrier, slicing through empty air as Kagome dropped it and threw a marker from the table at him. The table was destroyed as Sesshomaru fell through it, launching back to his feet to close before Kagome could make her next attack.

"Stubborn miko." Sesshomaru slammed into her, sending Kagome down to the ground without a chance to burn him in return.

"Damn arrogant bastard!"

"Rin-neechan! Mama and father are going to kill each other!" Mizuki's yell and footsteps faded down the hall as she ran for help.

"Now look what you've done!" Kagome sat part way up, glaring. Her mate was looking towards the yelling in the hall, his attention off of her. The second marker she had hidden in her hand hit Sesshomaru in the leg, sending his legs out from under him and flat on his back near his mate.

"No, really, they are going to kill each other! Look!" Mizuki's face appeared in the hole in the wall, with Rin's face appearing next to it.

"They are not moving, Mizkui-chan."

Kagome hissed over to her mate. "Are we going to settle this like adults, or do we need to destroy some more walls?"

"We will stop."

"Kagome-chan? Sesshomaru-sama? Are you all right?" Rin poked her head through the wall, not particularly willing to get close to the feuding couple.

"We're fine, Rin-chan." Kagome dusted herself off. Sesshomaru was already on his feet and offered a hand to help her up. The miko flared for a second, making Sesshomaru's eyes widen slightly, but he did not move his hand away. Smiling, she took the offered hand and climbed to her feet.

"See, Mizuki-chan, they are fine. Come on, let them finish talking." Footsteps were fading down the hallway as Rin walked away.

"That was not talking. Mama threw father through the wall!" Mizuki glared at Rin before following her down the hall. "We should not leave them alone!"

"Trust me, Mizuki-chan. We do not want to be here."

"We leave for Bokusenou tomorrow. No more arguments." Glares passed between the couple. Kagome tightened her grip on his hand with a silent threat. "If you like peace and quiet, we leave tomorrow."

"I do not respond well to threats." Tokijin was still in Sesshomaru's hand.

Surprisingly, Kagome smiled. "I know. What else do you suggest? Bribery, perhaps?"

"You will attempt to bribe me?" Tokijin slipped back into its sheath as Sesshomaru relaxed his body.

"Sure, why not? Name your price, youkai."

An arm snaked out and around Kagome's waist, pulling Kagome up against his body. "Perhaps we can arrange something, miko."

The blood was singing in Kagome's veins as Sesshomaru seized her mouth, crushing her against the wall. The miko was pulling his head down to hers, trying to press even closer. Her head fell back when he shifted his attention to her throat, lifting her so she could wrap her legs around his waist. His hands were working to loosen her clothing. Kagome responded by running her hand inside of his clothing, savoring the feeling of muscles playing under her fingers.

"Can I suggest that we move to a room that is somewhat less demolished?"

----

"Merlin."

'Run run run run.' A quick check showed that there was no easy way to avoid Merkamou. Rin took a deep breath and slapped on a cheerful smile. "Hai, my lord?"

"Do not start that." Merkamou walked over to her, giving her an annoyed look. "I simply wish to speak with you before I leave."

"Of course, my lord."

Merkamou crossed his arms. "And who is here aside from you and me?"

"I do not think I understand."

"My name, merlin."

"Oh." Rin looked down at her feet. "This is harder then I thought it would be, Merkamou. It may be a good thing that you are leaving for a time. It will give me time to adjust."

"True. And when I see you again it will be when we are preparing for battle, and far too distracted to worry about much of anything. I feel that I should be the one to tell you that Sesshomaru is speaking to Sora's family for me."

"I am happy for you, Merkamou." Rin forced her eyes up to meet his. "This is for the best, for everyone."

Merkamou touched Rin's cheek. "What about you, merlin?"

"I will be fine Merkamou. Remember, you are supposed to be finding a male for me. I am certain that you will find someone." Rin took a step backwards, moving out of Merkamou's reach. "If you will excuse me, I have things that I need to do. I will see you soon."

Rin moved to brush past the hawk, but he caught her, holding her arms. "And I will miss you," he whispered, brushing a soft kiss on her cheek before releasing her and walking away.

Rin slumped against the wall, holding her chest.

'Not fair, not fair, not fair.' Rin pressed her hands to her eyes, forcing herself back under control. 'It is truly for the best that he is leaving. I could not take much more of this!'

----

"Nani!"

"You will be staying here, with Sesshomaru-sama and Kagome-sama. I will be returning to my own lands and making preparations. Think of it as an apprenticeship." Hideaki kept his face impassive, but it was a struggle. His son's expression was priceless.

"If this is a joke, it is a bad one. I do not want to stay here with this insane family!" Isamu threw a small vase across the room.

"And you will be working that off."

Spinning around, Isamu found Kagome and Rin glaring at him.

"I'm certain that we can find something for you to do that will pay Sesshomaru back for that. Perhaps we could use some help in the stables. What do you think, Rin-chan?"

Rin looked Isamu up and down. "That might be more than he can handle, Kagome-chan. You might want to start with something lighter."

"Father, please, do not leave me here with this family." Desperation made Isamu's voice break, watching the two ningens out of the corner of his eye.

"You will stay here, as a ward of Sesshomaru-sama. Do not argue with me." Hideaki gave his son a dark glare, ending the argument.

"Just like me." Smiling, Rin gave Isamu an evil look.

"If this was your doing, if this is your revenge, I will . . . " Isamu advanced on Rin.

"You will what?" A hand found the hilt of a katana, the threat obvious.

Isamu mimicked her movement, smiling. "You are still too weak to fight me."

"If you believe that, keep coming forward."

Kagome clenched her hands inside of her sleeves, trying to let Rin deal with this herself. She watched as Isamu hesitated, then took two more steps forward. Rin did not draw her weapon. Instead she kicked him, using one of her infamous low blows to buy herself time to draw a katana while he was distracted. Eyes locked on her katanas, Isamu did not even notice the kick until it was too late. He had his blade only halfway out when Rin slammed a katana into his sword arm. He let out a yell and fell back, staring in horror at his arm as Rin pulled her katana back out and slammed the hilt into the side of his head. "Shut up, you wimp. If you are going to start something, do not complain when you get hurt."

"I do not believe Isamu has ever been stabbed before." Hideaki watched as his son pulled his sleeves up, staring at the entry and exit wounds.

"That explains a lot." Rin felt somewhat better after stabbing the annoying lord. "Are you done behaving like an idiot, Isamu?"

"I will get you for this."

Rin stabbed Isamu in the leg, spinning away before he could retaliate. Isamu drew his own sword, snarling. Frantic, Kagome waved her arms at the two. "Not inside! Not inside!"

With an injured arm, Isamu did not stand a chance. Rin knocked his blade away, sending it skittering across the floor. Drawing her second katana, she advanced quickly as he tried to retreat. A quick move of her foot and the leopard was tripped. As he smacked against the floor Rin jumped onto him, putting both of her blades to his throat.

"Now, are you done behaving like an idiot?"

"Hai."

"Good." Giving Isamu a final glare, Rin got off of him and walked out, trying to hide her smile.

Groaning, Isamu sat up and stared at his leg. Both of his injuries were burning fiercely, a sensation that was entirely new to him. Kagome made a sound behind him, rather like a gasp.

"Um, Isamu? I think we may need to get the healer."

"Why?" Isamu looked to his arm, and saw the smoke that was rising from his injury. The burning sensation was spreading, and instead of closing the wound seemed to be getting bigger. "What the hell is going on?"

"I think she just accidentally poisoned you." Kagome stuck her head into the hall and sent a servant for the healer.

"Accidentally? It is much more likely that she was trying to kill me!"

"I doubt that." Hideaki, looked his son's arm over, not concerned. "If she was trying to kill you, you would be dead now. I do not remember Rin-san's katanas being poisonous before."

"They weren't. It was after she left them in that taiyoukai overnight that they changed." Kagome was pushing Isamu down to sit on a cushion. "The healer is on his way. I'm not too worried about you, but it's best to have this looked at since this is the first time Rin has used those things since Totosai repaired them."

"This is what you are leaving me to, father?" Isamu whined like any youngster that was not getting his way.

"Hai. Kagome-sama, thank you for assistance. I will send an escort to bring your pups to my home before you march. Until then, I wish you the best of luck. Isamu, if you value your health at all you will do as you are told." Hideaki bowed to Kagome, but did not even glance at his son as he left.

"He has left me here." Isamu was staring at the door as though sheer willpower could force his father to return.

"Hai." Kagome turned when she heard the healer enter, smiling at the cranky youkai just to see him frown more. "Isamu has had a run in with Rin."

"Since when has Rin poisoned her opponents?" The healer looked the holes over, wrinkling his nose. "This smells more like the work of a dragon."

"Sort of. Is Isamu going to be okay?"

"Oh, he'll be fine. I'm going to bandage these up, since it will take longer to heal with the poison. He will feel rather disgusting tonight, but he should be fine by tomorrow." Nori set to work bandaging up Isamu.

Kagome fixed Isamu with a glare. "Are you going to behave yourself, or are you going to make this stay painful?"

"Kagome-sama, I have no interest in further injuries."

"Fine, then quit being an idiot. I'm sure Sesshomaru is going to have plans for you, and you will do everything he says."

"Hai, Kagome-sama." The bandage around Isamu's leg was jerked into place, making him flinch. 'Not like I have a choice. Here I am, surrounded by this insane family, and I must do everything they say. I must survive until my father recalls me.'


	45. Bokusenou

A/N: You guys really don't like Isamu, do you? I wonder where I got that impression. :-) I can't help the fluff, it's listed under romance after all. Besides, I have no control over these characters. They do whatever they want, and pay the author no regard whatsoever. Enjoy!

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"You will make yourself useful while you are here. The mornings will be spent helping to organize provisions, your afternoons will be spent training, and your evenings will be spent studying. I must leave for a short time with Kagome. You would do well to spend that time studying so that you do not embarrass yourself when I return and test your knowledge of tactics."

"And who will I be training with?" Isamu was not exactly thrilled to hear this schedule that Sesshomaru had come up with. Helping to provision? Training? Studying?

"I am leaving the Captain of Kagome's guard in charge of you, and he will arrange for your lessons. I would expect that Rin will be assisting."

"I will not take lessons from a ningen."

"Incorrect."

Isamu slammed into a door frame, wincing when his injured arm took most of the hit. Sesshomaru snatched him back to his feet.

"Try again."

"I will take lessons from the Captain and any he assigns to help, including Rin."

The young lord found himself in a heap on the floor, thrown there by Sesshomaru. "Rin-san."

"Rin-san." Slowly, Isamu pulled himself back to his feet.

"If there is any rumor that you were disrespectful to any in this household I will not hesitate to rip your throat out. I will just bring you back to present to your father. Out."

Barely remembering to bow, Isamu bolted from the room.

"You enjoyed that." Kagome was sitting by the wall, watching the show.

"Perhaps it was simple enough for him to understand." Sesshomaru pulled his mate to her feet. "Now that everyone is settled, we can leave."

"Hai." Kagome's stomach fluttered with nerves. And what are we going to find? Do I want to know? Have I doomed Sesshomaru to my lifespan? Headache starting . . . now.'

"Stop that." There was a dull ache forming across Sesshomaru's temples, and he knew where it was coming from.

"Gomen, Sesshomaru." Forcing her mind to stop running in circles, Kagome followed him out into the bright daylight. He scooped her up, holding her against his chest, and summoned his cloud.

Ah, the only way to travel.' Kagome settled into his embrace, enjoying the feel of his arms around her. Like it or not, here we go.'

----

Study? How am I supposed to study? There are no books on strategy here. Is this some sort of a trick? I will ask this Captain when I see him. There must be another library.' Isamu gave the bookshelves one last futile search, then stormed out to meet his new instructor.

Fabulous, an old dog. Oh look, he brought the ningen and hanyou as well. My joy knows no bounds.'

"Well, let's see what you know, youngster." The Captain grabbed a practice blade from the rack. "You can put that sword away. I do not use live steel with youngsters I don't know."

Grumbling to himself, Isamu grabbed two practice blades from the rack and faced off with the Captain.

"Unless I'm mistaken, you stink too much to be Rin. Put that away."

"Since when do you need to be a ningen female to use a second sword? If she can do it, then so can I."

"You need to stop thinking with your little head and try using the one on your shoulders."

Rin gasped and clapped her hands over Mizuki's ears.

"Excuse me?" Isamu glared at the old youkai.

"Son, I've been around long enough to know you can't get into a female's kimono by pretending to know what you're doing. And since I know Rin won't be letting you anywhere near her kimono, drop the act, drop the sword, and learn something!"

"Listen, you old fool . . ."

A small dagger slammed into Isamu's arm. "Do not talk to my sensei that way!" Rin was livid, quickly recovering Mizuki's ears. "Now do something useful before I remove that second head that seems to be so distracting!"

"Your aim is off, Rin. You are getting rusty with those. Go and practice."

"I do not think anything is wrong with her aim." Isamu pulled the dagger from his arm, frowning at his latest injury.

"She was aiming for your chest." The Captain gave Rin a glare. "Right?"

"Hai, Captain." Rin released Mizuki before retrieving her dagger from Isamu and finding a tree to practice with. Mizuki would retrieve her dagger for her in exchange for her first few lessons on how to throw one.

The Captain turned back to Isamu. "She's gone. Now, can you concentrate?"

"Hai." Isamu set the second blade aside. Not that it would have done him much good with yet another injury. Crazed female.'

The similarities between Rin and the Captain's fighting styles made it obvious that he had been her instructor for some time. Rin had some moves the Captain did not, but the Captain had the speed and strength of a youkai.

"Quit being a sissy! So what if you get hit? Get over here or so help me your family line ends with you!" The Captain gave Isamu a crack on the arm, aiming for the injury Rin had given him. "You want to go to war? Stop being pretty and kill me already!"

Snarling, Isamu slammed into his new instructor. How he ended up pinned down was beyond him, but the Captain was smiling. "Better! Now, try using your brain instead of just smashing into things. It works better that way."

The youngster tried to shove the Captain to the grass while he was rising, but quickly found himself flat on the ground with a foot on his throat.

"I do not accept rude and dishonorable behavior. You were beaten. Get over it, you spoilt little brat. Do it again and I break your arm. Get up, come at me again, and use your fucking brains."

"Ah!" Rin missed the tree completely while listening to the language coming from her instructor. "Mizuki, you heard nothing!"

"Oh, no, Rin-neechan. I heard that one. What does it mean?"

"Nothing, it means nothing. Captain, Mizuki can hear you!"

"And?" The Captain knocked Isamu back again with practiced ease. "You weren't much older then her the first time I called you a brainless sack of . . ."

"Ah!" Rin had her hands back over Mizuki's ears. "Stop that! You know Kagome would be furious."

"True. I will try to restrain myself. Unless this damn fool idiot keeps making the same mistakes over and over again! Who taught you, a blind, one-legged village idiot? Do it again and I will lay you out on the grass, and Kami help you then!"

"What am I doing wrong?" Isamu stopped dead, panting. "What are you yelling about?"

"Finally. I had just about given up. We will start again, at half speed, and I will show you how to fight instead of just hacking at me. When you have the idea Rin will take my place and I will watch both of you."

"Hai, sensei."

Cautiously, Rin pulled her hands off of Mizuki's ears. Hmm, maybe this is what the spoilt brat needed. Who would have thought that the Captain would take to him?'

When Rin was called over, she set her katanas aside and scooped up a single practice blade.

"Rin, three quarter speed. I want him to look for openings and utilize them instead of just swinging until he hits something. Play nice. If I see any mistakes in your form at this speed I will have your hide for a new rug." The Captain stood to the side with Mizuki, watching as Isamu and Rin sparred.

He is not just swinging. What a nice change.' Rin kept things straight forward, letting Isamu find the holes and slide through. He was thinking, and his accuracy was starting to improve.

"See, Mizuki? He has an advantage in height and reach, but Rin is a smaller target. Isamu needs to use his reach to his advantage, keep her out where he can reach her but she can't reach him." The Captain was whispering to Mizuki, pointing out moves that were usually too fast to see.

"Ah." Mizuki soaked it in. Perhaps this fighting is not as boring as it seems. I still do not understand Rin's love for it, but I know father will insist that I learn. Maybe it will not be so bad.'

"Hold."

The fighting pair halted and faced their instructor.

"Isamu has had enough for today. Walk before you sit, or you'll stiffen up."

"Arigato, Captain." Isamu bowed before setting his blade in the rack.

"And you, Rin. Sloppy. Start going through your forms. I don't care if you've been injured, it just means that you will need to get it back together."

"Hai, Captain." Stifling a groan, Rin started to work through her forms under her instructor's critical eye.

Well, I feel better. I am done, and she is being held after class.' Isamu set out through the gardens, stretching his sore muscles. I'm not used to training for more then an hour. I wonder if this is usual. I'll give Rin some time to finish before I ask about those books.'

----

"This is boring."

Well, she made it until midday, so I think that is an improvement.' Sesshomaru made no comment as he continued to soar across the sky.

"Let's play a game."

Please, no, anything but that.'

"Okay, this one is called I Spy. You have to guess what I'm seeing. I spy with my little eye something . . . green." Kagome smiled up at the blank face, waiting for him to start guessing. She was left waiting. "Hey, you have to guess."

"There are many, many green things around. Which one is it supposed to be?"

"That's the point, you have to figure out what green thing I see."

"You see all of them. What is to keep you from changing what you see so that I can not guess the correct one?"

Kagome gave him a glare. "Because that's cheating, and I don't cheat. Come on, guess! I'll give you a hint, it's a really easy one."

"Your haori."

"How did you know?"

Sesshomaru smirked at her. "You kept glancing at your sleeve."

"Oh, fine, it's your turn."

"My turn for what?"

"Spy something already!"

"I see something irritating."

The beautiful white hair was given a tug. "One, it has to be a color. Two, you didn't say it right. And three, I am not."

"Perhaps you know of another game."

"Hm." Kagome stared off into space while she thought. "Paper rock scissors."

"And what is that." Sesshomaru had the overwhelming urge to hit himself. Now you are stuck with this.'

"Here, you can choose to be a rock, paper, or scissors. We each make a fist, and say Rock Paper Scissors Shoot'. When we say shoot, we make our hands into the thing we choose. Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, paper beats rock."

"What are scissors?"

"Something from my time to cut paper. Think about it as two knives stuck together."

"And you expect me to believe that paper would beat rock?"

Rolling her eyes, Kagome gave the gorgeous hair another pull. "Come on, it's just a game. Ready?"

"I will need a hand free for this, correct?"

"Hai." Kagome was rearranged so that Sesshomaru could hold her with one hand. Pressed hard against his chest, it took Kagome a moment to remember what they had been doing. "Ready? Rock paper scissors shoot!"

First point went to Sesshomaru, as did the point after that, and the one after that. On the fifth round Kagome figured it out. "You're cheating!"

"Really? How?"

"You are changing your hand so fast I can't see it and beating whatever I choose!"

"That is cheating?"

"No more of this game for you. What do I have left?"

Maybe she is out of ideas. I am not that lucky, but I can hope.' Sesshomaru stared ahead, hoping that the silence would continue.

"Thumb wrestling!"

"Nani?"

"Let me see your hand. Try to pin my thumb down. One two three four, I declare thumb war!"

The outcome was a given, but Kagome put up a good fight. Giggling and squirming, she used her whole body to help her overwhelmed thumb.

"Miko, if you do not stop that, I will drop you."

Gasping, Kagome threw her arms around his neck and pulled herself hard against him. Her legs went around his waist, leaving her clinging to him like a cat. "Don't even joke about that! You know I don't like heights!"

Well, this is interesting.' The squirming miko was now crushed against him with her legs wrapped around him. Not one to pass up on a golden opportunity, Sesshomaru dropped his head down to kiss her. She moaned and pressed back against him as his arms wrapped around her.

I think I'm going to be a member of the mile high club.' Adrenaline from the ground being so far away made Kagome's heart race and skin tingle as the slipped her hand under her mate's clothing. I sure hope nobody looks up.'

----

After wandering through the garden for almost an hour, Isamu returned to find Rin still working, now with her own katanas.

"Watch your left foot! It's too slow!"

Isamu could not see anything wrong, but Rin gritted her teeth and continued. Mizuki was sitting to the side with a book, glancing at her sister from time to time.

"How long will she be practicing?" Isamu sat next to Mizuki, noticing the way she stiffened.

"With the way the Captain is yelling, I would say until it is dark." Mizuki kept her eyes on her reading.

"Until dark?" A quick check confirmed that the sun was still well above the horizon. "What did she do? Why is he keeping her here so long?"

"Do?" Mizuki finally looked up. "Nothing, my lord. She will usually train with the Captain for several hours. With his yelling, Rin will probably continue to work well after he leaves, until it is too dark to see. I may find her working in her room tonight when she is supposed to be sleeping."

"That is insane."

"No, my lord. That is devotion." Mizuki returned to her reading.

"Where did you get that book, pup?"

"Library."

Clenching his fingers, Isamu fought with his temper. Mizuki was studying a book on the tactics used in war. "Which library?"

"There is only one, my lord." Sapphire eyes glared at him before returning to her reading. "It is much more difficult to concentrate with your comments."

"Mizuki-chan, is he bothering you?" Rin was panting, carefully stretching out her tight muscles as she caught her breath.

"I simply need to know where the books on strategy are kept. Sesshomaru-sama left instructions for me to study."

"Mizuki-chan."

"Father said I could read them in my room." Keeping her eyes on her reading, Mizuki desperately wanted them to drop the subject.

"Not all of them at once. Isamu needs to read some."

"Very well." Mizuki glanced at Isamu. "Will you require the introductory texts, or will you be comfortable with the intermediate works?"

Rin snorted while Isamu's jaw dropped. "Knock it off, Mizuki-chan. Just get the books. Save a few for yourself, but put the rest back in the library."

Snapping her book closed, Mizuki growled under her breath. "Fine."

"She has all of the books on tactics in her room?" Isamu watched as the young pup stomped away.

"Hai. A lot of them are too advanced for her to read, even though she works very hard at it, but she can understand the maps. She can piece them together and understand what is going on. All of her reading lessons involve those darn books. I am learning strategy from teaching her how to read."

"Rin, enough gossiping."

"Hai, Captain." Rin immediately went back to work.

Isamu watched as she turned and parried, each movement precise and perfect. It was enlightening to see what she would do to perfect her skills. I am not patient enough to go through that.' He turned to walk to the palace, leaving the ningen and her instructor to work until the sun dipped below the horizon.

----

"Is this it?"

"Hai." Sesshomaru set Kagome down, straightening her haori.

"Bet you've never done that while flying. I'm glad you didn't drop me." Kagome retied her hair, blushing in memory.

"It was certainly a more enjoyable way to pass the time then your foolish games."

"Hey! I was bored!"

Sesshomaru led her through the woods, pushing past the low hanging branches.

"Sesshomaru."

"Eep!" Kagome startled and spun around, looking for the source of the voice.

"Bokusenou." The taiyoukai stopped in front of a tree, watching as the face formed.

"I have been expecting you. Is this the miko I have heard so much about?" Bokusenou turned his yellow eyes to the ningen that was peering at him from around Sesshomaru.

"This is Kagome, my mate."

"I am surprised it took you this long to seek me out. A most unusual choice in a mate."

"It was not exactly a choice."

"Hey!" Kagome smacked Sesshomaru on the arm.

"No matter how it came about, it is unusual." Bokusenou refocused on Sesshomaru. "What are your concerns?"

"We cannot be separated for more than a day. She can locate me, and calm my blood. While I can sense her emotions, she can catch glimpses of what I am seeing or thinking."

"Interesting. Not to be unexpected."

"What do you mean?" Kagome stepped out from behind Sesshomaru.

"When a bond forms between two youkai, it is a blending of their youki energy. When a youkai takes a ningen, the youki surrounds the ningen, but there is nothing in return. It is a more fragile bond. You, miko, have something to return. It is a testament to Sesshomaru's strength that he is still alive."

"Nani?" Kagome was just perplexed now.

"His youki came up against your miko energy. In order to overcome it, more energy was needed. A stronger bond. And your energy seems to have accepted him as well, making the bond even tighter. Do you love him, miko?"

Kagome blushed and looked at her feet. "Hai."

"That would explain why your powers did not destroy him, but blended with his and surrounded him in return. Very interesting. You are bound to each other much too tightly. It was a battle for your two auras to fit together, and in the process too much energy was shared."

"Is it true that we can't outlive each other?"

"It would seem that way. I cannot imagine either of you surviving, bound the way you are."

"Is there anyway to break this?"

"Nani?" Sesshomaru turned to stare at her.

"Is there anyway to break this so Sesshomaru does not have to die with me? I'm just a ningen! He should not die when a mortal does!" Kagome had tears on her cheeks.

"Sesshomaru, you have not told her?" Bokusenou looked almost amused.

"Told her what?"

"Can you not tell? Have you not noticed?"

"Speak, Bokusenou."

"She is slowing down."

The taiyoukai froze. He had noticed that she came into heat less and less often. "Are you certain, Bokusenou."

"Hai. The change was probably so gradual you did not notice it. I can see it, though. She has slowed, almost as slow as you now. With time she may very well match you."

"What the hell are you two talking about? And quit calling me slow!" A furious miko was glaring at the two youkai, and being ignored.

"How?"

"Your youki. She has had a considerable amount of time in a tight bond with you, and it is affecting her body. I would not be surprised to find that she has changed you as well. I doubt a miko could purify or bind you now."

"Nonsense, I threw him through a wall just yesterday." Kagome crossed her arms and glared at both of the youkai again.

"But I did not burn." Sesshomaru was staring at Kagome while his pulse raced. Can this be true? Could this be possible? Please, Kami, let Bokusenou be right.'

"I'm going to throw you into him if someone does not tell me what is going on." Kagome was letting her aura show, snapping just a bit at the edges.

Sesshomaru suddenly pulled Kagome against him, burying his face into her hair and breathing. She does not smell like an aging ningen. I can not smell her body failing.' His hands had a faint tremble was he lifted her chin. "Your aging has slowed. You are not aging like a ningen, koishii, but like a youkai."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Hai."

Kagome threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. He held her close, savoring the fact that her scent was not that of a mortal. It was embarrassing that he had not noticed, but it had been so gradual. Just a year ago she had been able to burn him, but it had been small. Now he did not have to worry about the centuries without her. They would live together, and die together.

Little hiccups were coming from Kagome as she stopped crying. I get to see them grow up! Sesshomaru does not have to be alone or have a ningen's life span! I get my happy ending!'


	46. On The Horizon

A/N: And here we go again. Hopefully I'll get all of your questions answered, Cindy.

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"It is almost time to leave."

Kagome glanced up from playing with Katsuro. Her excitement over the news of her new lifespan had blocked out the thoughts of war for the past week. Now the dread crashed over her like a tidal wave, making her eyes go dark as she looked up to Sesshomaru. "Already?"

"Ryuutaisho is already on the move. His forces are moving towards my border even now. Word must have reached him of his son's death. I had hoped that the information would take longer, but it was sure to escape." Sesshomaru watched as Katsuro rolled onto his stomach and lifted his head. Soon his son would be crawling and making his mother insane.

"Or he figured out where Akira went."

"Possibly. Either way, we are out of time. I have already sent messengers to Merkamou and Hideaki to let them now that it is time to march. I have sent some forces to the border to make certain that Ryuutaisho does not break through."

Sighing, Kagome watched Katsuro. She had never seen a war, much less fought in one. She had seen what a battlefield would look like after the battle, and she did not want to see that carnage in the making. But there was no choice. Her pups were in danger, and she would go to war for them, and her love. "I will go and see Sango today. I will also talk to Akira and see what she is going to do. Hideaki should have an escort on the way already for the pups. I don't want to leave them, but it is too dangerous for them to come with us."

"We will leave as soon as the pups are away. I would not expect to wait more then two or three days. Isamu has actually proven to be useful in the preparations, now that he is suitably motivated."

"Did the Captain really make him run laps in the gardens?"

"Hai."

"I would have loved to have seen that. He has been much better behaved since he was put under your watch. Don't you think?"

"Hai."

"Come on, Katsuro. Your Daddy is working, and we are going to go visit Aunt Sango." Kagome scooped up her babbling pup, blowing a raspberry on his cheek.

"Do not teach him to call me that."

"Okay, Daddy."

"Hn."

'Well, she does make for peaceful company.' Rin sat in a tree and watched as Akira played her music. The dragon knelt behind the koto she had found, carefully plucking a beautiful melody. The defense manuscript Rin was supposed to be studying was lying in her lap as she enjoyed the music. The lady looked so very serene and perfect. Nothing was ever out of place, and she never missed a note. 'I really wish I could hate her.'

A group of the palace ladies were out walking. Rin could see Sora in the group, blending in to the sea of silk and jewels. The inu-youkai looked at the ningen, then giggled and whispered to her friends. The group giggled together and disappeared back into the palace. Rin ran a hand over the rough material of her clothing and her unruly hair. 'That is what Merkamou will have for a mate, and I will continue on as Sesshomaru's lost little ningen. I may try to dress as they do, but it is a costume and any can tell. Dressed like this I am a subject of jokes and mocking glances. I can not win.' A sigh blew out of Rin at her dark thoughts.

"Rin-san, is something troubling you? I can move if this bothers you." Akira never stopped playing as she spoke.

"No, Akira-sama. I am enjoying your song very much. I did attempt to learn the koto once, but I did not have much success. It sounded rather like an injured animal."

"It is a difficult skill, and one that is quite painful to the ears to learn. It must be a passion in order to endure the beginnings." Akira concentrated through a difficult passage. "You have a passion of your own. You understand what I mean."

"Hai." A finger trailed over the hilt of a katana out of habit. "And it was a painful beginning."

"One should pursue what they love, and not try to learn something that they do not even desire."

"But what if there is no choice?"

"There is always a choice. I could have chosen to not learn this instrument, but I wished to. You have followed your passion, what troubles you about this?"

"I have my passion, but part of me wishes to be more like you. Being a fighter is exhausting and painful. I would like to have the time to make music, to read, to figure out how to make my hair stay where it belongs." Rin giggled a bit as she tucked a wayward lock of hair back.

"And why do you say that I am not a fighter?"

"I apologize, Akira-sama. I have never seen you with a weapon, and I assumed that you did not fight."

Akira glanced up, her eyes dark. "But I am armed."

"Nani?"

"You have your weapons, and I have mine. My weapons include the koto, my fan, and my perfectly controlled hair."

Rin shook her head. "You have lost me, my lady."

"You fight with your katanas, daggers, and fists. I fight with my mind and manipulation. In my way, I am as deadly as you. And it is just as exhausting and painful. This is the most efficient way for me to accomplish what I need, so I do it. They see a lady, quietly playing music and looking beautiful. I flutter a fan and hide my face, leaving them with the impression of simple and shy. Then they talk. How do you think I was able to follow my mate's preparations? Because he did not hide them from his simple, foolish mate. And his advisors lusted after me, willing to tell me anything for some of my time."

"I would have never known, Akira-sama."

"You wear your weapons for all to see, but I keep mine hidden. They do not see me coming, while they will watch you."

"Should I hide who I am?"

"Of course not." Akira set her hands on her lap, staring at the ningen. "You should use all of your assets. You have weapons that you are not using. Males will melt for a female and give her more information and help then you will ever get at sword point. Be yourself, but do remember what else you have. A well placed smile can be as deadly as a well placed dagger, and harder to trace."

The music restarted as Rin turned over what she had been told. "And how can I attract and manipulate a male if I am myself? I am different then what they are looking for."

"Rin-san, when you are looking at a group, what catches your eye? Not the ones that are the same, but the one that is different. What must change is why you are different. Now you are obviously uncomfortable with your position. Males will notice what is different, and they will be fascinated with it if you are comfortable and happy that way."

"Akira-sama, I do not suppose you would be willing to help me with this. I would have no idea where to begin. I will not put aside my katanas, but I think that you may have the answer to a problem that has been bothering me for some time."

"Hai, Rin-san. I was not blessed with any daughters, and it would be a pleasant change to train a female. Most of my experience is wasted on a son." Akira smiled to herself as she plucked her melody.

"Arigato, Akira-sama."

"Are you sure about this, Sango-chan? Do you really want to go to war?"

"Of course. This is a wonderful training opportunity for Rin."

"Sango-chan, you have fallen on your head far too many times."

The exterminator gave her best friend a mock glare. Mirokou smiled at his wife's expression as he tackled his oldest son. "Kohaku, leave them alone to talk."

"Is Mama leaving again?" Kohaku looked at Kagome with angry eyes. "Every time she visits Mama leaves again."

"I'm sorry, Kohaku. I really don't want to take your Mama away." Kagome looked like she might cry. Katsuro was burbling in her lap, and offered a pleasant distraction.

"Kohaku, we talked about this. I have to go. We live in the Western Lands, and we do not want to have the war spread over here. When this is over I will be able to stay home with you guys for a nice, long time. I need you to be brave and help your father take care of everything for me. You are the oldest, after all." Sango smiled as her son puffed up with pride.

"Hai, Mama. Papa will need help with the twins. They are walking now, Aunt Kagome. Poor Papa can hardly keep them in the house now." Kohaku looked over his shoulder to watch as his twin sisters toddled across the room, heading straight for the door. Mirokou swooped down to stop them.

"Kagome-sama, I would gladly offer my services. A war sounds almost peaceful since the girls started walking." Mirokou deposited his protesting daughters on their mother.

"That's what you said when Souta started walking. Where is Souta, anyways?" Kagome looked around for Sango's younger son. She set Katsuro down on the ground, letting the twins stare at him. She could never tell which was which, but one of them was trying to pet his ears.

"Puppy."

"Probably on the roof. I can not keep that kid off of the roof, or out of the trees." Sango set her daughters on the floor and stuck her head out a window. "Souta, get down from there before you fall and break your neck! Do not make that face at me! I can to make it up there, young man. Kagome-chan, I will be right back. You have had it, Souta!"

"I am sorry to be taking her away again, Mirokou. I know she just got back." Kagome smiled to her friend, now a father and in his thirties.

"I understand, Kagome-sama. It would not be my dear Sango if she was not running into battle. Just . . . bring her back to me." Mirokou looked away, his eyes haunted for a moment.

"I will, Mirokou."

There was a loud thump outside. Sango was standing with her son in her arms, and he did not look happy about it. "Get in that house and say hi to your Aunt Kagome!"

"Don't want to! Wanted to stay on the roof! I see Aunt Kagome all of the time!" Souta crossed her arms and glared at his mother with his father's violet eyes.

"Now."

"Hai, Mama." Souta meekly walked over to Kagome, recognizing his Mama's tone of voice. "Good afternoon, Aunt Kagome."

"Good afternoon, Souta." Kagome grinned and caught the boy in a head lock. "Say it! Say it!"

"Yield! I yield, Aunt Kagome!"

"No, say it!"

"I yield, Great Princess Kagome!"

"That's right. Next time just come in and say hi, don't make your mama come and get you." Kagome plunked the youngster in her lap. "How a charmer like Mirokou spawned these trouble makers is beyond me. Maybe the curse of the hand really did end."

"Not likely. I caught Kohaku watching some of the village women bathing just last week." Sango glared at her eldest, who just smiled back.

"I was curious, Mama."

"Ah, he will be my true heir." Mirokou knew the smack was coming, and just smiled as the handprint was left on his cheek.

"Hentai." Sango marched to the back of the house and grabbed her bag and boomerang. "Let's go, Kagome-chan, before I am a widow."

The children scattered outside, running with Kirara in the grass. Kagome and Katsuro followed them out, glancing behind to see Mirokou locked with Sango in a passionate embrace. She flushed, seeing the almost desperate way Mirokou was clinging to her. 'I will bring her back, Mirokou. I promise.'

Ah-Un was waiting for her, grazing on the grass. Kagome mounted as Kirara transformed to give Sango a ride. Waving to the family below them, Kagome hugged Katsuro close and followed Sango across the sky towards the palace and the final preparations for war.

"Kagome-sama, the escort from the Northern Lands is approaching."

The miko looked up from the message she had just received from none other then Ryuutaisho and scowled. "Fine. Let me know when they get here. And find Akira-sama for me."

The servant scrambled out, leaving the fuming miko by herself. 'Damn dragon. The nerve, addressing this to me and not Sesshomaru. Fine, then. I'll answer it myself.'

Akira cleared her throat, pausing in the door way. "Kagome-sama? Did you send for me?"

"Hai, Akira-sama. Come in. I have a message from your mate. It seems that you are my captive, and I murdered your son and emissary in cold blood. He is declaring war unless you are returned and Katsuro is released to him in place of his son."

"Nani?" Akira took the note that Kagome held out to her. "Well, since you are preparing to march in a matter of days it is not terribly surprising."

"Now the question is whether I want to be mature and responsible, or answer the letter."

"How would it not be mature or responsible to answer the letter?"

"I'm going to give that dragon a piece of my mind. Want to help?"

The lady was staring at her, confused. "What would you like for me to do?"

"He he, this is going to be fun." Kagome pulled a piece of paper and a brush to herself. "Dearest Ryuutaisho . . ."

"That does not sound threatening." Akira watched over Kagome's shoulder as she wrote.

"Wait for it. I have received your note, and after through consideration, and am recommending that you go piss into the wind. It will do you as much good. Okay, Akira-sama, you were his mate for a couple of centuries, what would really steam him?"

"Umm. He is rather unattractive, for a taiyoukai. His eyes do not match very well."

"It's a start. You stupid, cross eyed lizard. You have to know more then that."

"Oh, this is embarrassing, but the concubines have said that he is not well endowed. I have not had an occasion for comparison, so I must take their word on it."

Kagome started to giggle. "The mighty Ryuutaisho has an itty bitty teeny weenie?"

Blushing furiously, Akira looked at her hands. "It does seem that way."

"Did he know how to use it, at least?"

"Kagome-sama! Absolutely scandalous! I had six sons, he evidently knew at least something about the process."

"That doesn't mean he knew how to use it."

"Kagome-sama, I do not think I understand where this is going, and I am almost frightened to know what you are about to tell me."

"He doesn't! Holy Kami, he doesn't!" Kagome was leaning on her desk, wheezing with laughter. "I knew he was compensating for something."

"This is a most inappropriate conversation."

"Oh, probably. Just take my word on it, if you are this perplexed by the conversation, he was not doing it right. Hopefully your next mate will be able to show you what I mean." Kagome was writing furiously now. "This should just make that dragon insane."

"Kagome-sama! That language is most unseemly!"

"True, but it's accurate. Right?"

"Hai. It is." Akira sat next to Kagome, shaking her head. "How did you end up as Lady of the West, my friend? You are such a different creature."

"I have no idea. Just one day I woke up and this was my fairy tale, complete with knight in shining armor."

"You can add that he can not write his own letters. His secretary must write them for him, for none can read his writing. It is not as scandalous as the rest, but it does aggravate him to no ends."

"Now you are getting into it, Akira-sama. This is therapeutic for you. Get all of those nasty feelings off of your chest. What could happen? We are already at war."

"True. He is afraid of small spaces. And he is a rather strong smelling creature. I will say it, he stinks. He does not bathe nearly often enough for my comfort, and he is down right lecherous. He was most indecent with the servants. He stank, and had roving hands, and he was an idiot! I manipulated him for decades without his ever being aware! Stupid, stinking, filthy beast that turned my sons against me and kept me trapped at a separate home so that he could lay with any that caught his eye! The bastard!"

"Yes, Akira-sama!" Kagome scribbled away.

"I hate that beast. All of my sons were warped to be whatever he wanted them to be, and I could not stop him. They barely recognize me now. He devastated the lands that were my dowry, and he squanders the treasury. It has been all I could do to keep the household from falling into ruin, but it was more then I should have needed to deal with! Here I was, trained to rule from hatching, and forced to clean up his messes. And the more I caught, the bigger the mess he would make! I could not take it anymore, and when I got your note I knew it was war. I ran, like a coward, because I could not stay while he destroyed our lands and our sons. I should rule the Eastern lands, not that slimy, no good, son of a bitch!"

"Wow! Feel better?"

"Hai, actually." Akira took some deep breaths, her usual calm demeanor returning. "I hope that I was able to help with your reply."

"Oh, yes. Ryuutaisho should be quite annoyed with my creation." Kagome folded her note and sealed it. "I will send this out first thing tomorrow, before we march. It should get there ahead of us."

"My lady?" The servant was back. "The escort is approaching the gates."

"Fine, I'm coming. Akira-sama, would you care to join me?"

"As you wish, Kagome-sama."

Akira followed Kagome out into the sun, feeling rather free after her outburst. The tiny miko was such a contrast to herself. Her hair was loose, blowing in the breeze as she practically skipped across the courtyard. The dragon had yet to see her in anything other then the haori and hakama that were practically a uniform for her. It would be interesting to see her dressed in a fine kimono, but it would not fit her. Somehow, Akira could not imagine this free spirit in the binding clothing that she wore. This odd miko was the closest thing Akira had ever had to a confidante, and she did not want Kagome to change in any way. For once, Akira had found a creature that she did not wish to manipulate and use.

The gates were swinging open, revealing a rather large armed group. Amongst them was a commanding female, dressed for battle. She had the same icy blue eyes as Hideaki and Isamu. Kagome's eyes fairly bugged out of her head. "My lady?"

"Kagome-sama, I assume. It is a pleasure to meet you in person. When I heard that your pups would be coming to stay with me I insisted that I escort them myself. I am Mayu. And I assume that this is Akira-sama. How unusual, to have all of the Ladies in one place. We should talk before I depart. Should we have tea, ladies?"

"Sure." Kagome had the feeling that she was a leaf being tossed along on a breeze. She found herself following Mayu into the palace.

"I have not been here since Sesshomaru's father ruled. It has not changed much." Mayu moved unerringly to Kagome's study, leaving Kagome confused and floundering. "Perhaps you will introduce your pups to me here, so they are more comfortable with me. I would not like for them to be any more distressed then necessary."

Kagome and Akira glanced at each other behind Mayu's back. Kagome made a face, sticking out her tongue and making Akira bite her lip to avoid laughing. In her own study Kagome was able to recover her equilibrium and sat behind her desk. A servant brought in tea, serving the three ladies before bowing himself out.

"Hideaki tells me that you are going into battle, Kagome-sama. In my younger days I would have done the same, but now I find that I would rather stay home and let the males slaughter each other. Will you be joining them, Akira-sama, or would you prefer to join me at my home?"

"I will be accompanying Kagome-sama, Mayu-sama." Akira sipped at her tea politely. 'There is no way in hell I am going to this female's home. War is preferable.'

"As you please. If it were my mate causing this much trouble, I would do the same. He should find better things to do with his time. Honestly." Mayu stopped her tirade when she heard footsteps stop at the door. Looking over her shoulder, she found a silver haired pup with fluffy ears. "Is this one of yours, Kagome-sama?"

"Hai. Mizuki, come in. This is Mayu-sama, the Lady of the North. You have met Akira-sama." Kagome felt the familiar surge of pride as her daughter bowed elegantly before sitting at her mother's side.

"What a pretty little thing. And so like her father. Who would have though a hanyou could have such presence! She may be a wonderful influence on my youngest daughter. If Sesshomaru's heirs will be hanyous, my young might as well get used to it. It will take some time, though. Even I am having some trouble adjusting to the idea. I had always considered hanyous to be weak and a waste of space. Now I will be watching over two of them. It is amazing how times change." Mayu looked Mizuki up and down. "This one will do much to change opinions, I believe. The resemblance is uncanny. If not for the ears she could be mistaken for her father as a pup. Have you ever considered trying to hide them, perhaps with her hair? The scent would still give her away, though."

While she did not move, Mizuki's claws were slowly sinking into the palms of her own hands. Her eyes did not flicker, but she took in every word. 'Hanyou. I am so sick of that word.'

"I am proud of my daughter as she is, Mayu-sama. I will send for Katsuro. He should be done with his nap now." Kagome ran a hand through Mizuki's hair, sympathy making her heart ache. Within a few minutes she had her giggling son in her lap, watching all of the strangers in the study. "Mayu-sama, this is Katsuro."

"Oh, it has been so long since I have had a young one to watch." Mayu softened as she looked at the little face. "May I hold him, Kagome-sama?"

"Hai, just watch out. His teeth are coming in, and everything in reach goes into his mouth."

Katsuro giggled for his new friend, trying to fit part of her armor into his mouth. Mayu melted. "Oh, he is so adorable. Kagome-sama, I will keep them both safe. I miss having little ones around."

It was easier for Kagome to breathe now. Seeing this side of Mayu made it easier to entrust the leopard with her offspring. "Arigato, Mayu-sama. Would you like to see Isamu while you are here?"

"No, it is better that he not see me. He will just beg to come home. It is Hideaki's fault that he has been so much trouble. The fool just could not refuse his only son. Anything that boy wanted, Hideaki would give him. Yes, we waited a long time for him, but it is ridiculous! We should be departing soon, anyways. We can cover a lot of ground tonight."

"So soon?" Kagome looked desperately at her pups.

"I know, Kagome-sama, but it needs to happen. They will be safe with me. It will not help to draw this out." Mayu rose with Katsuro. "Call for your mate so he may see his litter off."

'No need. He is already on his way. I must be more upset then I thought.' Kagome could feel Sesshomaru moving through the palace towards her, concerned. "He is on his way."

Akira and Mayu both gave her odd looks, but Mizuki's eyes were on the door.

"Ladies, I will meet you in the courtyard." Kagome shooed the ladies out so she could say good bye to Mizuki in private, and let Sesshomaru talk to his daughter.

After the ladies left, Mizuki slowly stood and pulled her claws from her own hands. She watched with a blank expression as blood trickled down her hands, making her mother gasp. A hand closed around her wrist, a hand with a stripe running across the wrist.

"Mizuki." Sesshomaru already knew how Mizuki had hurt herself. "What did they say?"

"Hanyou." She refused to look at her father, staring at the floor.

"You will prove them wrong." Both hands were inspected, the bleeding already coming to a stop. "You are my daughter."

"Hai, father." Mizuki looked up, meeting his eyes. "I will remember."

'How do they do that? No more then twenty words, and they just had a whole conversation.' Kagome shook her head. 'I have a feeling that this will get worse as she gets older.'

Sesshomaru brushed a finger across Mizuki's cheek before turning to Kagome. "Are you ready?"

"Are you kidding? No way am I ever going to be ready for this." Kagome used her own clothing to wipe the blood off of Mizuki's hands before grabbing her in a tight hug. "You will be perfect, I know. Watch out for your brother, and don't listen to any nasty things they say. Just be your usual, amazing self. It will be the best response."

"Hai, Mama." Mizuki buried her face in her mother's neck for a moment, then pulled away.

Sesshomaru walked Mizuki out, leaving Kagome to follow. The miko felt like her heart was being ripped in two. Katsuro was still with Mayu, but he was starting to look distressed. Mizuki was silent and poised, letting nothing escape.

"I will bring them to you after your victory, Kagome-sama." Mayu smiled to the distressed mother. "It will be okay. The first separation is always the worst."

"Mizuki-chan!" Rin came hurtling threw the courtyard, flinging herself at her younger sister.

"Rin-neechan!" Mizuki hugged her sister back. "I did not think I would get a chance to say good bye."

"You will be home before you know it." Rin brushed her own tears away. "Do not get into any trouble. What are the rules?"

Mizuki smiled. "No running, no yelling, no swearing, no hitting."

"And?"

"No challenges."

"Good girl. I will see you soon." Rin ruffled her sister's hair before turning to Mayu and Katsuro.

"You must be Rin-san. I have heard much about you." Mayu smiled as the stories about Rin and her son played in her mind.

"Hai, my lady." The young woman tickled Katsuro. "Come home soon, little brother. I still need to teach you to hunt with me." Bowing to the ladies, Rin took off before she could start crying in front of her siblings.

"We should go." Mayu's guard was waiting by the gates. "Come, Mizuki-san. We will be to my home soon and you can meet my daughters."

"Hai, Mayu-sama. I look forward to meeting your family and I thank you for your hospitality." Mizuki followed Mayu away from her family.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I think Mizuki will be fine in Hideaki's court."

"Hai. She is my daughter." Sesshomaru watched as his pups went through the gates, losing sight of them when the gates closed.

"It is so quiet now. Hideaki, Merkamou, and now the pups are gone. I don't like it."

"Neither do I. I blame you."

"Nani?"

"I used to enjoy peace and quiet. Now I find it unnerving. Explosions seem to be more common then silence since you arrived."

"You were bored before you met me." Kagome flounced back towards the palace. "Let's get this damn war won already. I miss my pups!"


	47. Reunion

A/N: This took forever, and I'm still not one hundred percent with it, but close enough. And after this I'm all set for violence! Lots and lots of violence! Whee! No more cookie dough while writing, it's not healthy. All eyes are on Akira, waiting to see what she will do. And yes, since everyone wants to see, you will get to see Kagome's creation later. Question, are you guys interested in a chapter on Mizuki at Hideaki's house? Just wondering if you guys wanted to hear anything about that. Also, this war is kicking my rear end. It looks like I will be taking another one of my week long hiatus things so I can get it in shape. I have to write all of those chapters together, and it is going to be a beast! I have one more for tomorrow, but after that I'll be taking a short break to beat my computer into submission. Still own nothing, still poor, school sucks that way.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rin was smiling. A genuine, happy smile. 'Who would have thought that dragon would be the one to help me sort this out?' She ran a hand over the soft silk she was wearing, her mind replaying the activities of the previous day.

----

"Rin-san, I am glad you are here." Akira came into Rin's room, followed by a small army of servants including a pair of seamstresses.

"Akira-sama? What is going on?" Rin had been preparing to change for dinner, but quickly aborted that plan when she was invaded. Retying her clothing, she gave the group a glare. "I was changing!"

"I am going to help you." Akira disappeared into Rin's closet. "My goodness, child. What a difference between this side and the other. No wonder you always look so uncomfortable."

Rolling her eyes, Rin stuck her head into the closet to watch the dragon. "I do not have a lot of choices when it comes to my attire. I wear these to train, and these for company."

"And this?" Akira gestured to her armor.

"Battle."

"Well, everyone has something for battle, but we can combine the rest into something that will not be such a hindrance. You can be both beautiful and deadly at the same time."

The seamstresses pushed Rin onto a stool while Akira pulled out clothing. "She must be able to move, but elegant. Almost exotic. We will not even pretend that she is an average female, but will play up the fact that she is different as well as lovely. They must be distracted into not thinking of her as a threat."

The usual hakama was there, but now partnered with a shorter, thinner kimono that was tucked inside. Both were of silk, with the hakama in black and the kimono in white. Rin made a face, not seeing the difference. Akira unburied another kimono from the closet. This one was of very light silk in a dark wine color with a geometric pattern that started at her waist and continued to the floor.

"I would like this to be adjusted." The kimono was tossed over Rin. "It should not wrap all of the way across. She must be able to move. Shorten the hem and sleeves as well. Remove much of the bulk from the hakama, since they must go under the kimono. Modesty must be preserved."

Bundled into a robe, Rin waited as the two youkai seamstresses made short work of the adjustments. Blushing furiously, she allowed the group to redress her under Akira's command as her closet was turned inside out.

The end result was surprising. At first glance Rin appeared to be wearing a simple, elegant kimono. As long as she was still the impression would remain. If she ran or leapt, the kimono would part and allow movement. The light silk did not bind or weigh her down. The slightest breeze would blow the kimono back to reveal her considerably slimmer hakama, a look that would certainly be distracting. The dark blue obi was more narrow and simplified so that it could be easily removed if need be. 'I could even ride Ah-Un like this!'

"This can be hidden inside of your kimono." Akira handed Rin her poison mask. "These are too lovely to hide, even if you could."

Before the owner could give a warning, Akira was rejected by the two katanas. She frowned at the blades, shaking her hand. "Youkai blades?"

"Hai. A gift from Sesshomaru-sama." Rin quickly slid her katanas into place before Akira could ask any questions.

"Interesting." Akira looked over the piles of clothing that the servants had gathered. "These are to be adjusted to match what she is wearing, and I expect that more will need to be made."

"Hai, my lady." The seamstresses hustled out, followed by the servants and clothing.

"And the last touches." Akira carefully taught Rin how to pin her hair on top of her head, not even trying to control the mass. Small tendrils were allowed to escape and curl around her face. Several jade sticks were used to hold her hair, hiding their true purpose as weapons. Rin's small dagger was tucked under her kimono where she could easily slip a hand inside to reach it.

"I am a walking armory." Rin examined her reflection, liking what she saw. She would not be mistaken for just another lady at court, but she looked polished. Instead of looking like a lost orphan, she looked like a poised lady that could take care of herself.

"Exactly. You will need a fan, of course."

"Akira-sama, if I add anything else I will fall over!"

"Nonsense." A fan was pulled from Akira's obi. "You will like this one. Look closely. There are tiny blades along the top. No one, especially a male, will inspect a fan. These are sharp enough to slit a throat. I have done so, twice."

"Why are you helping me, Akira-sama?" The ningen watched the armed, dangerous taiyoukai behind her as she snapped the fan back closed.

"Kagome-sama. I will never be able to repay her for what she has done for me. Besides, I was never able to help a daughter. At least a daughter would have been left with me. Did you kill him?"

Rin did not have to ask who 'he' was. "No. I was actually unconscious when he was destroyed. I did blind him though. He was after my sister, and I had to save her."

Akira was staring at Rin in the mirror, running her talons over the fan she still held. Her eyes were dark, making Rin tense. She was alone with a dragon, and she had killed her son.

"What did he look like?"

"Nani?"

"I do not know which of my sons was sent."

"He had black hair and violet eyes. He had a purple slash across his face, and was not much taller than you."

"My youngest. I have not seen him since he was a week old, and that was over a century ago."

"Akira-sama." Rin looked at the haunted eyes in the mirror. "I am sorry. It means nothing, I know, but I truly am sorry."

"He did not know me, and I did not know him. I thought I would hate the ones who attacked my son, but I cannot. I have spoken more with you then I ever did with him. Ryuutaisho killed my sons long ago. I do not know these monsters." Akira tucked the fan into Rin's obi. "I believe we have found someone that you are comfortable being, Rin-san."

"Akira-sama. I will help you kill him."

"Arigato, Rin-san." Akira left without another word.

Gazing at her reflection, Rin thought that something was still missing. Glancing around her room, her eyes landed on a vase of flowers that she had picked that morning. She placed a single white lily in her hair, smiling when the scent reached her. 'Now I'm ready.'

----

'And she was right. I can be this person. It will take some getting used to. Every time the breeze blows my kimono open I feel so immodest, even if I am fully dressed. Having my hair out of the way is certainly a nice change.' Rin was perched on a branch, swinging her legs as she watched the household prepare to leave. Below her Ah-Un was grazing, tacked and ready to go. Neither of them wanted anything to do with the chaos at the palace.

Several of Kagome's guards had been glancing at Rin, admiring the new look. Sesshomaru's ward suddenly seemed like an adult female. To say nothing about the tempting picture she made with her kimono ruffling in the breeze to reveal the slim pants underneath. Even Sesshomaru noticed the difference.

"Kagome, is this your doing?"

"Huh?"

"Rin."

Kagome's eyes found Rin against the leaves. "Nope, but I wish I could take credit. It's a good look for her."

"Hn." Sesshomaru stalked away, trying to ignore Kagome's giggles.

"Rin-chan!"

"Hai, Kagome-chan!" Rin jumped down, easily handling the ten foot drop.

"Look at you! When did this happen?"

"Akira-sama helped me. Do you like it?" A quick pirouette let Kagome see the clothes from all sides.

"Absolutely, and I know that several of my guards like it, too."

"Really?" Rin blushed before glancing over Kagome's shoulder. "Which ones?"

"Rin-chan! Quit hiding and find Sango, she's been looking for you."

"Hai, Kagome-chan."

'Merkamou is going to have a heart attack.' The miko watched as Rin darted across the grounds, looking for her instructor. A couple of heads turned to watch her go. 'What has Akira done?'

-----

"In the stories they always say going off to battle like it is some big, exciting thing. What a disappointment."

Kagome was behind Sango on Kirara, grumbling to Rin on Ah-Un. "How long is this going to take?"

"Four days, according to Sesshomaru-sama." Rin stretched, just as bored as her friends. "We cannot exhaust everyone by running the whole way. It is youkai, so we will still make better time then a ningen army. Less breaks."

"Stop complaining, Kagome-chan. How much time did we spend wandering around Japan to find those shards?"

"I know, but it was entertaining then. With you smacking Mirokou, Shippou fighting with Inu . . . " Kagome's voice trailed away.

"I could always start a fight with Rin-chan for you."

"Really? You would do that for me?"

"Of course, Kagome-chan. Oy, Rin! Are you here to fight or just distract the males?"

"Hey! Just because you are an old married woman does not mean we all have to act like one!" Rin managed a passable indignant look.

"Old?" Sango dived Kirara at Ah-Un, making Kagome squeal with surprise and grab onto her friend. "I'll show you old, you upstart!"

"Sure, if you can catch me!" Ah-Un skimmed the ground as they dodged Kirara.

"So much for conserving energy." Isamu watched the ningens chase each other across the grass.

Akira made no comment, forcing Isamu to try harder to engage her in a conversation.

"Do you believe that we will find Ryuutaisho waiting at the border?"

"I would expect so. He is very impatient." Akira kept her eyes down.

"And what will you do after he is defeated, Akira-sama?"

"I am uncertain. The others wish for me to rule, but it will be hard without help." The blue eyes flicked up to the leopard's face for half of a heartbeat before returning to the ground.

"Any would wish to be with you, Akira-sama."

The fan flashed into existence, hiding Akira's face. "You flatter me, my lord."

Heart pounding, Isamu watched the lady next to him. She was everything he ever wanted. She was perfect. "If you ever need assistance, Akira-sama, just tell me. I will do anything I can."

"Arigato, my lord." The fan lowered, allowing Akira to peek at Isamu. "You are very kind."

Isamu's heart skipped a beat. "My lady, . . . "

"Look out!"

No one saw Akira move, but she was simply out of the way. Isamu was not as quick and found himself knocked face first into the grass.

"Bad, Ah-Un! You were not supposed to knock him over, just scare him. Are you okay, Isamu?"

"Crazed female." Isamu rolled onto his back to glare at his nemesis. "If you cannot control him, land!"

"Well, if you are going to be that way I will not apologize!"

"Isamu-sama, are you injured?" Akira was kneeling at his side, her hands fluttering over him.

"It is nothing, my lady." Isamu gave her a bright smile. 'Small price to pay for her attentions.'

Akira turned her back to him, facing Rin. "You must be more careful, Rin-san!"

"Hai, Akira-sama." Looking down right smug, Rin soared away.

"Please, Isamu-sama. Let me help you."

Shaking her head at Akira's game, Rin looked over the force that was marching to the east. She saw a familiar figure struggling to keep up with the taller youkai around him. Diving down, she snagged him by the back of his clothing and hauled him into the air. "Good afternoon, Jaken-sama!"

"Rin, you impudent child! Put me down this instant!"

"Are you certain that is what you want, Jaken-sama?"

Staring at the ground, Jaken changed his mind. "Do not drop me, foolish ningen! You are the most troublesome creature."

"Then you do not wish to ride on Ah-Un for the rest of this march?"

"I never said that!"

Rin dropped Jaken behind her on Ah-Un. "Rin is happy to see you as well, Jaken-sama."

The toad softened somewhat. "It is good to travel with you again, no matter how annoying. It brings back such memories."

"Oh, Jaken-sama, I still do not like long stories."

"I will never get the respect I deserve from you!"

Somehow things seemed more in balance with Jaken behind her on Ah-Un. Rin smiled to herself and hummed a tune as Jaken grumbled away. Sesshomaru glanced up at them, amused to see his two companions back in their usual places.

----

"Wow."

Kagome stood next to Sesshomaru, looking over the mass of soldiers that had gathered. Merkamou's banner was to her right, and Hideaki's banner was off to the left. From her viewpoint it looked like an ant mound that had been disturbed, sending the soldiers scurrying about. "There are so many. I had no idea."

"Hai. And Ryuutaisho is on the other side of those hills with an army that is just as massive. He has been building up to this for years, and has thrown all of his resources into it. He cannot lose, and he knows it."

"A trapped animal." Kagome shivered. "I am going to say hi to Merkamou."

"Not alone."

"No, I'll bring Rin and Sango." The miko gave Sesshomaru a peck on the cheek before heading to his camp. "Rin-chan! Sango-chan!"

"Hai!" Sango waved to Kagome before turning to poke Rin. "Come on, Rin-chan. Kagome's calling."

The three ningens crowded together in the midst of the youkai army. None would dare to bother the Lady of the West, but they were still getting a wide variety of stares. Kagome opted to ignore them, focusing on her friends. "I want to say hi to Merkamou. Sesshomaru says I can't go alone, so can you guys come with me?"

"Of course, Kagome-chan. Let's go, Rin-chan."

Sango followed right behind Kagome, but Rin lagged behind. She did not really want to face Merkamou, but she knew it would be coming sooner or later. The miko was making a beeline for the hawk's banner, weaving her way through the soldiers. As they passed into the Southern armies there was an increase in stares being directed their way. The rumor that the Lady of the West was a ningen did not prepare the troops to see a trio of ningen females wandering through the camp. The lagging Rin was subjected to some cat calls, making her face burn.

"Are you lost, ningen? Perhaps I could help." A hand snagged at Rin's sleeve, making her whirl around. With her right arm caught, she slipped her left hand inside of her kimono, unnoticed by the attacker. "You can come with me."

Rin buried the dagger in his arm, making him howl and fall back. "Keep your hands off of me unless you would like them removed for you." Snatching the dagger back, she glared at the surrounding group. The youkai moved away, staring as she marched after Kagome.

"Was that the Lady of the West?" one solider asked another.

"I don't know," was his companions reply.

Growling to herself, Rin caught up with her friends as they approached the command tent in the center of the camp. The guards waved them through, obviously expecting them. Kagome was looking every which way, trying to find her friend.

"Kagome!"

A youkai launched himself at Kagome, slamming into her chest and knocking her across the ground. The pair came to rest at Merkamou's feet. The hawk raised one eyebrow at the pair, then quickly drew his sword to block Rin's attack. "Easy, merlin."

"Kagome! I never thought I would see you again! I've missed you so much, where have you been? What happened to everybody?"

The emerald green eyes that stared at her had changed, but the eager expression under the unruly red hair was the same. "Shippo? Shippo? It's you!" Kagome nearly smothered the kit as she hugged him to her. "You're so big!"

"I've been growing, Kagome. It's been ten years since I saw you last. Where have you been?"

Merkamou looked down at the pair, breaking off his argument with Rin over Kagome's safety. "Shippo, may I present the Lady of the West."

"Nani? You and Sesshomaru? You mated with Sesshomaru? You're the ningen? But, but, but you were supposed to . . . and he's his half brother . . . and he tried to kill you!" Shippo sat up to stare at his friend.

"Half of Japan has tried to kill me. Including Merkamou-sama. I try to not hold a grudge these days." Kagome gave Merkamou a glare out of the corner of her eye as she climbed off of the ground. The kit now almost came up to her chest, just a bit taller than Mizuki. "You need to remember that I can't catch you like I could when you were little."

"So I take it that you know this one." The hawk was looking at the kit with amusement.

"Oh, hai. I met Shippo right after his father was killed, and he stayed with me and my friends while we hunted for the Shikon Jewel. But why are you here, Shippo? Merkamou-sama, what is a little kid like Shippo doing here?"

"It was not my doing. He came with his relatives. His father was an advisor of mine, and this one has found a spot in my court."

"I'm a messenger!" Shippo puffed up with pride.

"Some things never change." Sango came up alongside Kagome.

"Sango!" The exterminator was subjected to the same greeting that Kagome had received, but Sango was able to keep her balance. "Where's Mirokou?"

"He is at home, with our children."

"I knew he loved you! Who's that, Kagome?"

"You don't recognize her, huh? This is Rin." Kagome steered Shippo over to meet Rin again.

"The little girl that followed Sesshomaru around? She's gotten big."

"That is only because you are so very short." Crossing her arms, she glared at the cheeky kit. Merkamou was chuckling beside her, and it was making concentration difficult.

"Am not! Are you going to fight, Kagome?"

"Hai, Shippo. I'm going to be with the Western armies with Sango and Rin. And Sesshomaru, of course."

"That is just too weird. I can't even imagine you having a conversation with him, much less any of that other stuff."

"Shippo!" Kagome blushed scarlet as Rin and Sango got a good laugh in at her expense.

"Are you not supposed to be doing something, kit?" Merkamou stepped in to save Kagome from further embarrassment.

Jumping to attention, Shippo handed a scroll to Merkamou. "Hai, my lord!" Mission completed, Shippo turned back to Kagome. "So, can I come and visit you guys?"

"Of course you can. I'll let my guards know that you're coming." A final hug from Kagome threatened to squeeze the life out of Shippo.

"This is the reply, kit: No way in hell. Please make sure that the message is received word for word." Merkamou watched with a smile as Shippo darted across the camp to find his target. "He is a bother sometimes, but he has proved rather valuable here. He is very quick, and can find almost anyone in this chaos."

"I'm just relieved that he is alive and well. I never knew what happened to him after his family swept him away. It never occurred to me to ask you. How has it been going?"

An elegant shrug was the answer. "It is war. The preparations went well, and we are here now. Of course I would rather not be here, but such is the way of things."

'Ouch, that was a pretty melancholy answer from him.' Kagome forced a smile onto her face. "At least it went well." 'Lame, Kagome.'

"True."

'Okay, this is awkward.' Fidgeting, Kagome tried to think of something to say. Yet another messenger ran up to Merkamou with another note, pulling his attention away again. "You look pretty busy, so I'm just going to get out of your way. See you later?"

"Of course, Kagome-sama. I will be by later tonight to visit with Sesshomaru-sama."

"I'll see you then." Steering Sango around, Kagome went back towards her home camp.

Rin smiled up at Merkamou. "It is very strange to see you looking so melancholy and I am the one smiling."

The jibe worked, bringing a small smile to his face. "It has been exhausting work."

"We will find something to cheer you up when you come to visit our camp. With so many people running around, I am certain we could arrange something that would be entertaining. Perhaps you will help me design a joke for our friends."

"A joke? I doubt that Sesshomaru-sama will be in a joking mood."

"Probably not, but we will think of something to entertain ourselves."

"Your presence is entertaining enough." The hawk leaned closer to her, whispering in her ear. "May I mention that this look suits you?"

Blushing, Rin pulled back a bit so she could look in his eyes. "Arigato, Merkamou. I will see you tonight."

Watching the ningen jog off to catch up with her friends, Merkamou sighed. It was bitter sweet to see his merlin.

"Rin-chan, keep up!" Sango called back for her trainee.

"Hai, Sango-chan!"

The two older females were watching her closely. "So, what were you two plotting?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Hn."

"Kagome-chan, do not do that!"

"We can argue about this later. I'm starving. Let's go see what there is for food in Sesshomaru's camp before the other lords show up. And we should rescue Akira from Isamu." Kagome giggled to herself at the image of Akira hiding from the persistent Isamu.

"Isamu may be the one that needs saving. I think Akira is after him." Rin tipped her head to the side. "When she was yelling at me to be careful she winked at me. And I know that fan bit was just her flirting with him."

"Akira and Isamu? No way!"

"I am more shocked then you are, Kagome-chan. But that is what I saw."

Sango felt rather bad for the young taiyoukai. "Should we warn him?"

"Hell no!"

"Rin-chan! You better not keep talking like that when Mizuki gets back."

Smiling with an evil gleam, Rin looked over at Sesshomaru's camp. "Let Akira have him. I cannot think of a better fate for him than to get mixed up with her."

"That poor boy will never know what hit him."


	48. Decoy

A/N: As promised, I present violence. I will be taking a week off, since this war is going to be a pain to write! What was I thinking? Oh, well, it will be worth it. With any luck I will have the whole beast written when I get back, with plenty of blood, guts and gore. And nobody trusts Akira. I love it! Yeah, she is a heck of a lot older then Isamu, but you know what they say about older ladies. Besides, she doesn't look any older then Kagome, even if she is measured in the centuries. I own nada.

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"What language are they speaking, Rin-chan?"

"I am not sure, Kagome-chan, but it sounds complicated. Sango seems to speak it, though."

The two friends sat off to the side with Shippo while a large group studied maps spread over a table. All of the taiyoukai were there with their generals, making it rather crowded for the lone ningen. After a few useful suggestions the youkai had accepted Sango's presence, even harassing her as they would each other.

"If you would open your eyes you could see that would never work. Ryuutaisho would never fall for that!" A tough old eagle thumped on the table, earning a glare from Sango.

"My eyes are open, you wind bag, and it would work!"

"Sesshomaru-sama, tell the ningen that this is a foolish idea."

"I agree with the ningen." Sesshomaru rearranged the imaginary troops again.

A triumphant look was shot at the old general, who grumbled to Merkamou. Smiling, Merkamou hissed back, thumping him on the shoulder. Whatever Merkamou had said worked, for the eagle smiled back and nodded to Sango.

"Well, at least Sango is enjoying herself." Kagome shifted restlessly, looking around. "I keep looking for my pups, wondering where they are. I woke up last night panicking because I couldn't find Katsuro."

"You will have them back soon, Kagome-chan. Sesshomaru-sama said Ryuutaisho is gearing up for one huge battle, not a drawn out war." Slipping an arm around the miko's shoulders let Rin give her friend comfort.

"It's hard to see a huge battle as a good thing. This whole thing is stupid!"

"I know, but it is much too late now. Ryuutaisho is not going to back down, and neither is Sesshomaru-sama."

Shippo burrowed in Kagome's arms. "Where are your pups, Kagome?"

"They're at Hideaki-sama's home. It's too bad Mizuki is missing this, she would just love it." Kagome looked over the tacticians at work.

"Is Mizuki your daughter?"

"Hai, she's eight. My son is Katsuro, and he's just a month old. I'd guess that he has started to crawl, and is driving Mayu insane. At least Mizuki will behave herself."

"When can I meet them?"

"As soon as you come to visit, of course! Especially if Katsuro is up and running by then, you two would have so much fun!" Kagome squished the kit, thinking about him playing with her son in the gardens.

"Why can't I play with Mizuki? She's old enough to be running around."

Rin snorted. "Mizuki does not run around. She may sit in a tree and watch while she reads, but that is all the more you will get."

"Bor-ing! I didn't think that any of Kagome's daughters would be like that." Shippo wiggled loose enough that he could look up at the miko.

"She takes after Sesshomaru. All calm and collected."

"Like I said, boring."

Kagome broke back in. "Hush. You don't even know her, so no fair picking on her."

"Fine, Kagome. I'll wait to pick on her until I've met her."

The friends returned to watching the youkai debate and plan. From the expressions around the table it looked like some sort of agreement had been reached. Heads were nodding as notes were jotted down on paper. The meeting was breaking up, with the attendees moving outside to mix and talk before returning to their own camps. Kagome, Rin, and Shippo followed the group out of the tent.

Kagome joined her mate, greeting Hideaki and his generals with her open smile. Shippo was handed a note and sent scurrying back to the Southern camp, weaving through the startled soldiers. Alone, Rin looked around at all of the strange youkai. Akira was with Isamu again, giving him small smiles as encouragement. With Sango caught in an animated discussion with that eagle Rin was left on her own and rather nervous. She desperately tried to not fidget as one of the youkai approached her.

"Excuse me, my lady. I am being very forward, but I have not yet been introduced." The green eyes looking down at her were friendly, paired with a smile and a pleasant face.

Rin bowed, taking a deep breath against her nervousness. "My name is Rin."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Rin-sama. I am Daichi. May I ask how you came to be at this meeting?"

"I am fighting for Sesshomaru-sama. And how did you end up here?"

"I am a general in the Northern armies. Although, with Hideaki-sama as a leader, I do not have much say in strategy. That is his specialty and my job is to correctly execute his plan."

Daichi's rather aggravated expression made Rin chuckle. "I am in the same position, my lord. I do not help with the strategy. I simply go where I am told and kill as instructed."

The answering laugh made Rin duck her head, pleasantly surprised by his reaction to her blunt comment. Akira was watching and Rin could see her tap at her fan with a long talon. After a second Rin figured out what the dragon was after. She shot a perplexed look back to the lady, which got her a slightly frustrated glare. Akira opened her own fan to look at Isamu from over the top. Feeling somewhat awkward, Rin pulled out her own fan and snapped it open. She would not hide her entire face as Akira did, but the fan would be useful for when her shyness threatened to overwhelm her. To say nothing about giving her hands something to do so she would not fidget.

Obviously this was the correct move, as Daichi smiled at her flirtatious gesture. "Somehow I think you are underselling yourself, Rin-sama. Are you such a powerful tactician that Sesshomaru-sama does not want to give it away?"

Thinking back to how Akira spoke to Isamu, Rin let her voice drop a few notes. She caught the green eyes in front of her in a direct look as she smiled. "Ah, that must be it, my lord. You have found me out. Sesshomaru-sama will not be pleased."

There was a split second hesitation before Daichi started to laugh again. "You did catch me there, Rin-sama. How cruel."

"I believe you can handle it, my lord."

"Hai, that I can. Perhaps you are a secret weapon after all. An irresistible trap set by Sesshomaru-sama to lure in the unwary."

Rin leaned in close, noting the change in the male's breathing. She whispered to him, "You will never know, my lord."

---

"Oh look, Rin-chan made a friend." Kagome was delighted to see Rin talking to someone new. Her friend was rather shy.

"Hai." Sesshomaru watched closely as Rin whispered to her new friend, using her fan to hide her words from eavesdroppers.

"Oh, that is just Daichi. He will talk to any pretty female he can find while his mate is so far away. He means no harm." Hideaki smiled at the flirting couple.

A second male joined the couple. Now Rin was flirting with two males, laughing with both of them. Merkamou did not look amused.

"Your Daichi may not be a problem, but that male will be." The audience was entertained when Rin snapped her fan closed and bopped the new male on the head. "Or perhaps not."

"It is certainly more enjoyable to have such attractive faces while we are here. Usually we have nothing but tired, dirty males to look at for weeks on end. The attendance at meetings should go up." One of the generals was watching Rin with appreciative eyes.

When a third male joined the group with Rin, Kagome could see the hawk lord tense. Rin was smiling at all of her new friends, casually playing with her fan as she slowly entranced them.

"If you will excuse me." Merkamou bowed to the group and moved towards Rin, eaves dropping on the conversation.

"You truly should see the Southern lands, Rin-sama. I would be delighted to have you as a guest at my home."

"Oh, I am sure you would." Daichi gave the second male a faint glare.

"Daichi, just because you cannot invite lovely ladies to visit anymore does not mean that we must all do the same. It is an honest and honorable offer, Rin-sama."

"And a generous one, my lord." Rin smiled, spotting Merkamou over the male's shoulder. "However, I have already had an offer to stay in the Southern lands when I can find the time."

"May I ask who made this wonderful offer?"

"Do not tell me that you are believing anything that this one says."

All eyes turned to find Merkamou looking back at them. The male in question blanched at the sight of his lord staring at him.

"Merkamou-sama, play nice. I have no reason to doubt the honesty of his offer." Rin snapped her fan closed to give the hawk a playful glare.

"I was surprised that you were not at the table with Sesshomaru-sama."

"It is as I told Daichi-sama. I have no head for strategy."

"But your presence would have been every bit as entertaining as that of Sango-san."

Rin's eyes found Sango, still talking with that eagle. From the gestures, it looked as though they were discussing efficient ways to disembowel an enemy. "Ew."

"We are under attack!"

Yells from the edges of the camp sent all of the fun out of the situation. Rin was on the move in an instant, going with Merkamou to look for the threat. In the dark it was hard for Rin to see what was going on, but Merkamou could see just fine. "They are trying to get over here. It is the most logical target."

As one the fighters drew their weapons. Akira retreated to the back of the group, anxious. Kagome moved to stand near her, her bow and arrows already retrieved from the tent. Isamu took the other side.

Sesshomaru moved to the front of the group, Tokijin at the ready, to face the attackers. Yells and metal clashing could be heard as the unseen force clashed with Sesshomaru's soldiers. Merkamou stood next to him, reporting what his sharp eyes could see. "No more then one hundred, Sesshomaru. Your troops are scrambling, though. They will break through."

"Let them." The inu-youkai would destroy this threat.

"Remember, take her alive!"

The yelled command made Sesshomaru furrow his brow. "Take who alive?"

"Kagome-sama?" Merkamou looked at the miko defending Akira. "Wait . . ."

Rin followed Merkamou's glance. "Akira! They are after Akira!" She ran into the tent, reemerging with two hooded cloaks. "Akira-sama, put this on and pull the hood up!"

"What's going on, Rin-chan?" A tense Kagome watched as Rin covered Akira and pulled the other cloak on herself.

"They are after Akira, so we are getting her out of here. Isamu, get Akira out. Remember, use your fucking brains!" Rin thumped Isamu once on the head.

To Kagome's shock, Isamu nodded at Rin. "Hai." He snagged Akira by the waist and disappeared into the dark, her two guards chasing after him.

"Language, Rin-chan!"

"It's something the Captain taught him, Kagome-chan." Pulling up the hood, Rin grabbed Merkamou. "I am the decoy now. Akira is close to my height, and Isamu just took her away."

"Understood, Akira-sama." An amused grin went with Merkamou's assent. He pushed Rin behind him, rather enjoying her annoyed expression at playing the part of a passive lady. Most amusing.

The first group of soldiers was coming close enough for even Rin to see them. "Release Akira!"

"No." Sesshomaru swung Tokijin and slashed through the group, destroying half of them.

Rin grasped at Merkamou, trying not to laugh at his aggravated expression. The act seemed to be working, since the attackers were not taking the time to look at anything too closely. They saw a hooded female being protected by the Lord of the South. It was obviously not the Lady of the West, since she was at her mate's side and unleashing arrows into any youkai unlucky enough to come within her sights.

When more of the soldiers arrived the youkai had their hands full. Merkamou fell back, pushing Rin back with him. The ruse was working almost too well, with the forces focusing on the false Akira as they swarmed Merkamou. Sesshomaru and Kagome were cutting a wide swath with their attacks, while Sango's boomerang slashed unfortunate soldiers in half. Each of the generals and taiyoukai were taking soldiers down, even as Sesshomaru's forces caught any stragglers. The attackers were losing, but they had a single minded focus. They would capture Akira.

"I think you and Akira need to beat a retreat," Sango yelled.

"Good idea." With a quick movement Merkamou swept the hooded figure into his arms and took off into the night, in the opposite direction of Isamu and the true Akira.

The attackers tried to follow, but Merkamou was making it difficult for them. Zig zagging through the camp, he left them scattered and open to attack. Only the most stubborn were able to stay with them.

"Enough. Let's just kill the last of them. We have been running decoy long enough."

"Very well, Akira-sama." Stopping at the edge of camp, Merkamou set his bundle down.

"You can quit calling me that now. I think they will figure it out very quickly." The two katanas hissed as she unsheathed them.

"Well, merlin, when you said that you were going to provide entertainment I had no idea that this was what you meant."

"Do not blame this one on me! This was not my doing!"

The pursuing soldiers surrounded them, warily eyeing the hooded figure that now had two katanas. Since when did Akira even know which end of a sword to hold on to?

Back to back, Merkamou and Rin waited for them to attack. The hesitating group had obviously decided to kill Merkamou and then worry about who this female was.

---

Akira stayed behind Isamu as he helped her guards deal with the soldiers. The few that had followed them quickly found their death. Once the threat was removed Isamu continued on his path to the Northern camp, keeping his sword drawn as he watched for more threats. His own camp did not seem to be under attack, but that could change rapidly if they figured out where Akira had gone. The lady was quickly tucked into a tent, her guards at the door while Isamu stayed at her side.

"Isamu . . . "

"Shh." Listening carefully, Isamu tried to track any sign of a threat. There was a whistling sound as an arrow punched through the tent and flew out the other side. "Down!"

Gasping, Akira found herself shoved down into the dirt as her guards ran to find the attacker. Crouching beside her, Isamu listened for footsteps, waiting for the next attacker. He did not have to wait long. A dark figure pushed back the flap, finding the hooded female on the ground with a snarling leopard on guard.

"Release the lady. Ryuutaisho is waiting for her."

"Never." Trying to remember his lessons, Isamu moved towards the threat that was now in the tent with him. 'Do not just swing. Look for the mistakes. Use my advantages.'

The dark youkai charged him, looking to bowl him over. Isamu stepped to the side and let him blow by with a hit to his arm. Sliding to a stop much faster than Isamu could have predicted, the attacker spun and was on him. Rapid fire attacks put Isamu on the defensive, backing away from the blows. His opponent was smiling, triumph in his eyes. "What a pity they left her with a weakling to defend her."

The killing blow never landed. Isamu was no longer there, but was beside the youkai, slamming into him to drag him to the ground. His claws dug into the youkai's arm, ripping through muscle and tendon to force the youkai to drop his sword. Unarmed and desperate, the youkai lunged for Isamu's throat with his teeth, managing to leave a nasty bite before Isamu's claws could rip his opponent's throat out. The youkai collapsed as his blood drained into the dirt.

Akira was in the back of the tent, staying down in case of more archers. Her eyes were huge when she saw Isamu's condition. "My lord, your throat! We must get help!"

"It is fine." Ripping a piece of his own clothing off, he held the cloth to his throat to slow the bleeding. "He did not hit anything vital."

Cautiously Akira rose from the ground to approach him. Her hands went to the bite, genuine concern appearing for a second before being reburied. "Should we leave or stay here?"

"I do not think you want to stay here with a rotting soldier."

"My lord, that was not a necessary comment."

Shaking his head, Isamu tugged Akira after him as they eased back out into the open. Her guards had returned, and from the fresh blood on their weapons he guessed they had found the archer. The way to his father's tent was clear, and the word had reached the camp of the attack. Everyone was up and looking for a threat, letting Isamu follow Akira into the tent to clean himself up.

"Let me help you, my lord. It is the least I can do after you fought for my safety." Akira found a basin of water and a cloth. "Please, sit."

Settling on a cushion, Isamu watched as Akira tucked her sleeves up and knelt in front of him. She pushed his hand away, revealing the rather nasty bite. Sighing, she lifted her cloth and started to wash the blood away. It turned out that the young lord was right, that the wound was not serious, but it was deep enough to bleed everywhere. "Arigato, my lord. I did not think that Ryuutaisho would want me back enough to attack like that."

"Of course he would want you back. Aside from being his mate and desirable, he has most likely guessed that you may be helping us. And it is dishonorable to have your mate stolen by another, which some have been saying about him."

"Flattery again, my lord."

"The truth, Akira-sama."

The two pairs of blue eyes locked on each other. For the first time in centuries Akira felt her pulse quicken as she saw the heat in Isamu's eyes. She flicked her eyes down, concentrating on the water in front of her.

"Akira-sama?" Isamu tried to look into her eyes again, but she kept them down. "Have I upset you?"

"No, my lord." Looking back up, she recaptured the male's eyes. "If I may be so bold, I do enjoy talking with you."

Swift as thought Isamu caught Akira with a kiss, startling her. It was over in the span of a heartbeat, leaving her with the impression of softness and a carefully controlled force just beneath the surface. He felt like a thunderstorm on the horizon. She raised her fingers to her lips, confusion rippling through her.

"My lady, I apologize for my behavior. Please forgive me."

"I forgive you, my lord." Seeing Isamu reach to touch her, she snapped out her fan and left a long cut across the back of his hand. "But do not push your luck."

The flash of fire in the usually quiet and submissive Akira caught Isamu by surprise. He snatched his hand back, looking at the cut with wide eyes. "Whatever you wish, my lady. I do not want to upset you."

"Arigato, my lord. Now it seems that I must clean another injury." Her eyes down, Akira continued to tend to Isamu as though nothing had happened. Her heart was still racing, and it was difficult not to smile or laugh. 'It is just too perfect. He is so fascinated that he will do anything I want now. He will make a much more acceptable partner then Ryuutaisho. I will rule the East as I was born to do, and with him I will have an alliance to the North. None will dare to threaten my position then, not even Sesshomaru. The East is mine.'

Looking at Isamu still made her stomach flutter, a sensation that made absolutely no sense to her. 'It does not matter, this is the one I have chosen. He is certainly more appealing to look at. Ryuutaisho never kissed me, at least not like that. This time I have picked my mate, and this cub will be a biddable one. To say nothing about the way he treats me. He does not look at me like a contract or an object. I think he actually sees me, or at least the me that I have shown him. It is an improvement. My energies will be better spent ruling my lands instead of trying to control some male, and it will take no effort to control this one.'

'And he has great eyes.'

---

"Well, I hope you are enjoying yourself!" Rin ducked under a blow and used her katanas to remove her attacker's arm. The now familiar smoke rose from the injury, making him fall back as the poison moved through his system.

"Of course, dear merlin." A quick stroke sent Merkamou's opponent to the ground with his head beside him. "I still say that it was kind of you to arrange this for me."

"Knock that off." Attacked from both sides, Rin had her hands full for a moment, trying to get the two arranged so that she could kill them. She eased them closer to each other, inching them in until they got in each other's way. Once they were tangled up with each other she was able to run both of them through, sending them both to the dirt. The most convenient part of her new swords was that it only took one hit to the heart to kill the average youkai, as opposed to the tedious business of always killing them twice.

Turning to check on her partner, Rin saw a figure trying to sneak up on him from behind. She snatched out her dagger, hitting him in the eye and making him stagger. A quick attack and this soldier was also dead. Pulling her dagger back out, she gave it a quick wipe on the dead soldier's clothes before tucking it back at her waist. Merkamou smiled at her. "Arigato, merlin."

"No problem, trouble maker."

The ground was now littered with bodies, some still smoking from Rin's blades while others looked like mummies from Merkamou's attacks. Rin turned, hunting for another target and realized that the only one left standing was Merkamou.

"Is that it?"

An arrow slammed into Merkamou's shoulder, making him stumble. Rin grabbed him and dragged him into the trees for cover.

"Evidently not. Ow." Merkamou pulled the arrow out with a swift jerk.

Rin pushed him against a tree, standing in front of him and trying to find the archer. A second arrow left a shallow cut on her arm as it flew past. "I think they are still trying to take me alive."

"No surprise there, merlin. If at all possible they would prefer to take an attractive female alive." Merkamou clamped an arm around Rin's waist, pulling her close as his other hand slipped inside of her kimono.

"What the hell!"

Rin's dagger flashed through the dark, hitting the archer that had given his position away in the throat. The youkai dropped the ground, gurgling, then went still. Blushing furiously, Rin turned her head to yell at the taiyoukai. "You could have just asked!"

"That would have taken too long."

"I do not buy that." Turning about Rin checked on Merkmaou's shoulder. "Ick. You did not do a good job of pulling that out." Quick fingers were loosening the sash that held his clothing shut.

"Now it is my turn to say what the hell."

"I think you left the head of the arrow in your shoulder." Rin had helped patch up Kagome's guard enough times that it seemed natural to help him with an injury.

"And I could have told you that."

Rin gave him a glare as she pushed his clothes off. "Great. And you threw my dagger so I can not get this out."

A quick slash of talons opened up Merkamou's shoulder. "Ow."

Grimacing, Rin worked to get the arrow head out. When she finally had a grip she braced herself. "Gomen, Merkamou." A quick yank and it was out.

"Ugh. I hate archers."

"Hai." Rin shrugged out of the cloak and untied her own sash, revealing the white kimono underneath. Pulling it free of her hakama she ripped the bottom of it off, creating a temporary bandage. "No point in you bleeding everywhere.

Merkamou could hardly breathe as Rin tucked her kimono back into her hakama. She was so close to him, her fingers brushing against him as she wound the bandage around his shoulder. From the way her pulse had accelerated he would guess that she had just noticed how she was pressed against his bare chest.

"You should be fine to walk back to camp, Mer . . . "

An urgent kiss was pressed against Rin's lips, leaving her breathless. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer as his arms wound about her waist. Breaking apart for oxygen, she looked up at those gold eyes. "Sugoi."

Chuckling, Merkamou brushed a tendril of hair out of her eyes. "Arigato."

"Kagome-chan will be worried if we do not return."

"And we do not want a repeat of the last time she came looking for you."

"Absolutely not." Rin set to work straightening out her clothes and retying her sash. "You should redress."

"Am I that distracting, merlin?"

She refused to answer, sliding her katanas back into her sash. 'Oh, yes. Much too distracting.' Another glance at the prize specimen on display threatened to destroy Rin's self control. Flawless, of course, with lightly tanned skin and the muscles of a highly trained fighter.

"You are staring."

"Cover yourself, sukebe."

"Sukebe? I am not the one that is staring."

Rin chucked his sash at him.

"Fine, fine, since you cannot control yourself."

"And go find my dagger!"

"Touchy, touchy." Merkamou left his clothes untied as he went to find her dagger. "It is right here, merlin. Please, return it to the same spot. I should know where it is should I need to borrow it again."

Snatching back the dagger, Rin cleaned it off in the grass before returning it to its place at her waist. "You are infuriating, Merkamou."

"Hai." A blur of movement and he had Rin back in his arms. "And yet you seem to enjoy my company."

"I have no taste." She indulged in another passionate kiss before pulling away. "Let's go before they send a rescue party."

"As you command, my lady."


	49. Aftermath

A/N: I'm baaaaack! Well, boys and girls, I have good news and I have bad news. Good news, got the war written and have nice updates that should last about a week. Bad news? I strained my wrist at rapier practice today so my progress may be slowed. We shall see. Thanks for your patience, one and all! I am still beta-less, so constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. I've been considering entering a contest, so I need to get the great beast cleaned up. It's so long! Anyways, I'm going to rest my wrist now, so enjoy! And nothing has changed, I own nothing.

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Watching as yet another youkai disappeared in a puff of purifying energy, Kagome was already looking for her next target. A blast of power from her mate decimated a band of attackers, as well as an unfortunate tent that was too close.

"Well, he is thorough." Sango leaned against Hiraikotsu to watch as Sesshomaru mopped up the remaining attackers. The various lords and generals were moving through the camp and looking for additional threats.

With the last group destroyed, Sesshomaru resheathed Tokijin and returned to check on Kagome.

"I'm fine, jo-chan." Kagome knew what his question would be before he even began to speak.

"Hn."

"You're so sweet." Ignoring the dark look, the miko looked about for the missing members of her group. "We should bring Akira back. Did anyone see where Rin and Merkamou went?"

"I saw them running towards the edge of camp." Hideaki gestured towards the escape route the decoy had used. "I am returning to my own camp to find Akira-sama and my son. I will bring her back once I have found her."

"Arigato, Hideaki-sama."

The fighters were splitting up now, moving to their own camps or seeking a healer for their injuries. There did not seem to be any losses, but there were some serious injuries.

A familiar laugh caught Kagome's attention, sending her gaze to a couple coming towards her. "Rin-chan! Merkamou-sama! I was starting to get worried."

"Told you so." Rin elbowed Merkamou. "We are fine, Kagome-chan. Aside from this one getting hit in the shoulder we are quite fine."

"Thank goodness. Now all I need is Akira to come back. If she's okay then I won't have to worry anymore tonight. Come on, Merkamou-sama. Let's get a real bandage on your shoulder."

They were sitting in the command tent with Sango and rebandaging Merkamou when Hideaki returned with Akira.

"Akira-sama, you're covered in blood!"

"None of it is mine, Kagome-sama. Isamu was injured protecting me. It was nothing serious, but it did bleed profusely." Akira settled next to Kagome to assist her.

Seeing Merkamou attended by the group of ladies made Hideaki raise an eyebrow. "I am beginning to suspect that you allowed yourself to be injured to have the undivided attention of these ladies."

"Hideaki-sama, you were not supposed to give me away."

Rin hissed at the hawk under her breath. "Sukebe."

"Kagome-sama, I will leave you to tend to your patient. Tomorrow promises to be an interesting day." Hideaki bowed himself out.

"Rin-chan, you are bleeding too." Sango pushed up Rin's sleeve to show a long cut.

"A close call with the archer. I am more worried about my leg." The hakama was pulled up to show another long cut, but this one was partnered with a deep bruise. "This one hurts. Some fool tried to tackle me and this was from the glancing blow."

Sango wiped off Rin's leg, tsking to herself. It was not noticed by any except Akira that the hawk was also watching Rin's leg closely. Somehow she doubted that his interest was in the injury.

"It has been an exhausting day, Kagome-chan. I just want to sleep." Rin hid a yawn behind her hand. "Are you ready for sleep, Sango-chan?"

"Hai." Rin's leg was now bandaged and the hakama was pulled back down. "Are you coming, Kagome-chan?"

"Not yet. I need to talk to Sesshomaru."

"How about you, Akira-sama? Do you want to stay in your own tent or do you wish to stay with us?"

Rin's offer surprised Akira. "I believe I shall take your kind offer. This has been a rather unnerving day, and I do not imagine that I will be comfortable alone."

"We can stop by your tent and let you grab your things. If Sesshomaru-sama is staying up all night come and stay with us, Kagome-chan. We will find room." Sango took Rin's offered hand and pulled herself to her feet.

"I will, Sango-chan. Go get some rest." Kagome went out to find her mate.

"And I will find my own camp, since I doubt there will be an invitation extended to me." Merkamou smiled brightly at the row of glares.

"Rin-chan, you can deal with him. I will walk you to your tent, Akira-sama." Sango and Akira slipped out into the dark after Kagome.

"And I will walk you to yours, merlin."

"Um, I am fine, Merkamou." Rin fidgeted a bit with her sash.

"What is wrong?"

"I just do not want anyone to get the wrong idea."

One red and gold eyebrow threatened to roost in his hair. "You say this about my walking you across camp, and yet in the woods . . ."

"Shhh!" Rin looked around for eavesdroppers. "Do you think you could be any louder?"

"When did you become so embarrassed by me? Neither of us is mated."

"But you are courting Sora, remember?"

From the expression on Merkamou's face it was obvious he had not remembered her at all. "You know that is against my will."

"Whatever the reason, you are promised to someone else. My behavior will destroy any chance I had at finding a partner of my own if it gets out."

"You could come to the South with me. I could find a position for you at court."

"As what, your concubine? I do not think Sora or Sesshomaru-sama would approve."

"I would never do that! I was thinking as a member of my guard."

"And that would solve what? You would see me, but would not have a relationship with me. I would be alone, surrounded by youkai that hated me and said the same things Hachiro did. And I am becoming suspicious that a questionable position was your intentions."

"I could protect you from them."

Rin snorted. "Oh, I am sure Sora would love that. Bringing a ningen from the West to be your whore and then protecting her. Have you lost your mind?"

"I am trying to find a way where we can be together!"

"You think so little of me that you would throw my honor away so you could have my body? You would want me as a whore?"

"No!"

"Then what are you saying?"

Merkamou's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I do not know. I can not stand the thought of never seeing you."

The smile Rin gave him was sympathetic, but distant. "I will write you. You will always be in my thoughts. But that is all. I will not live that life, not even for you."

Rin gave a stiff bow. "Goodnight, Merkamou-sama."

He stared after her, feeling as though he had been kicked in the stomach. He had been so eager to have her near him, to avoid saying good bye, that he had actually offered the position of mistress.

And been very sharply refused.

'As if the merlin would ever accept such an offer. Baka, Merkamou!' Pressing fists against his eyes, the hawk lord tried to think of a way to get Rin's favor back. She was very upset.

'Pissed would be more accurate. I was so desperate to keep her, and now she wants nothing to do with me. Just great.'

The walk back to his camp was a miserable one, with images of Rin in the woods competing with images of Rin's face when she realized what he was saying. 'I deserve this. It was selfish to suggest that. No one would question a lord for having a mistress, but the merlin would be a creature to be mocked and scorned. To say nothing about Sora's reaction. She strikes me as the jealous type.'

His eyes were drawn up to the sky, looking for shooting stars. Somehow, there had to be a way out of this mess.

There were no shooting stars that night.

---

Finding her mate was no problem for Kagome, not even in the chaos that came after the attack. He was standing in front of some of his officers, and it looked like the officers were fighting. Sesshomaru was furious, but only Kagome knew that.

There was a flash of movement, and one of the officers dropped to the ground dead. Kagome's eyebrows disappeared into her hair. 'What the hell?'

The surviving officers were scattering, rushing through the camp. Sesshomaru turned to meet Kagome's stare as she picked her way through the mess to his side, concern written plainly across her face. "What was that all about?"

"The night watch was not arranged properly for tonight. The question is whether it was incompetence or treachery."

"And the one you killed?"

"The head of the watch."

"Oh." The miko looked at the carnage, her stomach threatening to rebel.

Sesshomaru caught her arm with one hand and steered her towards the tent they shared.

"What is it?"

"You are distressed."

"Well, yeah, seeing pieces of youkai all over the place will do that to you."

"I do not want you to be distressed. I would not let you see this if it were possible."

Kagome melted. 'That's my overprotective, annoying, loving inu-youkai.' She ducked inside of the darkened tent, relieved to have the blank canvas as the only scenery around her. "Arigato, Sesshomaru. When will this be over?"

"The scouts say that Ryuutaisho is on the move, and coming to meet us. Not tomorrow, but the next day I would expect battle to begin."

"So soon." Kagome dropped to her makeshift bed. "I'm scared, Sesshomaru."

"I know, koishii." Sesshomaru sat next to her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

"And you're worried."

There was no point in arguing with Kagome, since she already knew the truth. "Hai. We are outnumbered."

"It kind of makes me feel better, since I know even you are worried. I just know you'll win."

"Of course."

Giggling, Kagome gave the long hair beside her a tug. "Arrogant."

"Stubborn."

"Everything will be all right, right?"

"I will not fail."

"Good." Closing her eyes, Kagome leaned against her taiyoukai. "You aren't coming to bed tonight, are you?"

"No. Until the cause of tonight's incident is found it is not safe."

Soft fingers trailed through the silvery white hair. "I'll miss you."

"You should stay with Rin and Sango."

"It's going to be very crowded with Akira there. Can we send for Shippo to keep me company?"

"Hai." Kissing her, Sesshomaru pushed his miko back into the bed. "Rest."

"Then you better leave, or neither of us is going to be resting."

Sesshomaru left Kagome giggling in her bed, relieved to feel her emotions settling. At the opening of the tent he found the Captain standing at guard.

Seeing the raised eyebrow, the Captain came to attention. "Until we have figured out what happened I will be guarding the miko myself. I won't risk treachery."

A sharp nod was Sesshomaru's response. Catching a messenger, he sent a request for the kit to be brought for Kagome. Now that his mate was settled he could focus on weeding out the cause of that night's trouble.

---

"So, Rin-chan."

"I thought you were sleeping."

"Not yet. What were you doing with Merkamou tonight?"

Rin sighed and rolled over to glare at Sango. "Killing things."

"And that is all?"

"Hai."

"I don't believe you."

Rin flopped out on her blankets. "You have been talking to Kagome-chan."

"Not really. I was just noticing how at ease he seems with you."

"We have known each other a long time."

"He was jealous tonight." Akira's voice drifted from the dark.

"Nani?" Rin sat up to look towards Akira.

"When you were speaking with those generals he was jealous."

"You were seeing things."

"No, wait. I think you're right, Akira-sama. He did look jealous." Sango sounded down right excited.

"Both of you were much too busy to have noticed anything like that. Sango-chan was arguing with that eagle, and Akira-sama was talking to Isamu. And, if I remember correctly, you had Isamu quite bewitched." Rin tried to deflect the conversation away from the very sore spot it had been heading towards.

There was a rustle of cloth while Akira shifted. "I was talking to him, yes."

Rin was on this like a terrier on a bone. "And he was very quick to protect you when we were attacked. I think that there is something going on there."

"Good point." Sango looked over to Akira. "Isamu seems more infatuated with you then Merkamou is with Rin."

"Hey, he is not infatuated!" Rin was not amused.

"There may be some truth to your statement, Sango-san."

"Ha! I knew it!" Memories of Mizuki teasing her played behind Rin's eyes. "Isamu has a crush on you! Do you like him?"

Even in the darkness Sango and Rin had the impression that Akira was actually blushing. "He is interesting company."

"I think that is a yes." Sango was giggling. "So, Isamu and Akira. And let's not forget Merkamou and Rin. Young love."

"Young love? Merkamou is over three hundred years old!" Rin chucked a pillow at her instructor.

"But he acts like he's no older than you. And Isamu is even worse. How can you deal with him, Akira-sama?"

"It is not that bad, Sango-san. He has great potential."

"So long as he is doing as he is told." Rin crossed her arms and glared in the dark.

"Exactly." Everyone was surprised to hear a soft chuckle floating from the dragon's corner, including the dragon.

"And Merkamou . . . " Sango began.

"And nothing, Sango-chan. There is nothing there but a long friendship." Rin dropped back onto her bed.

It was far too easy for Akira to forget who she was with in the dark. They sounded so much like her own sisters, teasing in the night over the different males they knew. "I am not certain I believe her," Akira whispered.

"Oh, I know I don't."

"This is not fair, Sango-chan. You are only picking on Akira-sama and I because you are married and we cannot tease you back. But I have heard the stories about your husband." Rin caught her pillow as Sango chucked it back at her.

"I believe I would be interested in hearing these stories, Rin-san. It would put us on even footing."

"Now, now, aren't we supposed to be sleeping?"

"It is much too late for that, Sango-chan. Well, Akira-sama, Sango-chan is married to a hentai."

"Rin-chan!"

"Truly? What an interesting choice. And what does this say about Sango-san?"

"Akira-sama!"

The conversation between the three ladies was very entertaining for Akira's guards, who had not heard their mistress laugh in decades. The whispering and teasing lasted well into the night.

---

"A message has arrived for you, my lord."

"Who sent it."

"The Lady of the West."

Ryuutaisho snarled as he snatched the note away. The messenger scurried off, somehow knowing that he did not want to be nearby for this.

_Dearest Ryuutaisho,_

_I have received your message and, after thorough consideration, am suggesting you go piss into the wind. It will do you as much good, you stupid cross-eyed lizard. Was that too complicated for you? Honestly, do you think any sensible, attractive female would stay with a male as pathetic as you? It's a wonder you have any sons at all, since you have absolutely no idea what to do with a female when you manage to pay one enough to tolerate your stench. A stupid, smelly, desperate, dickless wonder is nothing to be feared. Now, be a good little boy and have your secretary write your pathetic response for you, since you can't do it yourself. I'll see you soon, and you better hope I don't capture you alive. If I catch you I'm going to stick you in a TINY cell with my mate. I'm sure you've heard of him._

_Hugs and Kisses,_

_Kagome_

"I want that dog's bitch taken alive. She will die at my claws, screaming for my mercy."

'I will kill you for this, Akira.'

---


	50. War

A/N: A big thank you to all of my well wishers. You know what's worse then a sore wrist? Sore gluteus maximus. Owww, never ever fencing for that long again. Merkamou was being just a bit too perfect, so it was his turn to be a jerk. I think I'll do a chapter on the Northern court, it should be a riot. And now, finally, at long last, war. It only took me 24 chapters. Hee hee.

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The wind blew past Rin's face, tossing her ponytail about. Adrenaline and fear were fighting for control in her chest as she looked down at the force that was coming from the East. A black mass moved towards the combined forces waiting for them. On a rise she could just make out six figures watching over the coming conflict.

'Ryuutaisho and his sons.' A shiver whispered down Rin's spine at the sight. She remembered Isamu's taunt while she was injured.

_That was just one taiyoukai. Are you ready to take on his brothers and father?_

'I do not know.' Haunted eyes found the speck of white that was Sesshomaru. He was waiting with his forces, eager for his chance to rip Ryuutaisho apart. Just visible from a well protected position tucked into the side of a cliff was Kagome, her bow and arrows at the ready. This was the compromise between Sesshomaru and the miko.

----

_"I already told you, I'm not going to hide like some helpless ninny! I'm fighting, and you can't do anything to stop me!"_

_"I do not want you with me in the front lines."_

_"I don't care what you want!"_

_Sesshomaru's hand landed on Kagome's arm, and she felt an iron clad control settle over her emotions. It was not soothing, but it did bring her overwrought emotions back down to a manageable level. Being on the receiving end of emotional influence was a new sensation. "What was that?"_

_"Since you are no longer yelling, I will assume that it worked."_

_"You just influenced me, like I do you."_

_"Hai. Myouga suggested that I may be able to do that."_

_"I don't know if I want to squash that flea or kiss him right now."_

_"I would prefer the first suggestion."_

_"Me too. Fine. I know I don't have any business in the front lines, but I won't just sit here and look pretty, either. I'm going to go up on that rise and use my arrows. I'll stay up there as long as I know you aren't in over your head."_

_"Hn."_

_----_

'Yes, I will face all six of them if that is what it takes to protect my family.' With the return of her resolve, Rin turned so that she was looking at Sango instead of the fighters below her. Her instructor was calmly checking over her surprise for the enemy, looking as though nothing was happening. "Are you scared, Sango-chan?"

"Terrified." The exterminator straightened to look at her student.

"Good. I am, too."

"You will do your best, and the rest is up to luck and Kami."

A quivering sigh helped Rin to relax her body. "Do you need a hand with those?"

"Hai. They are heavier then I remembered."

In a neat row was Sango's surprise: poison bombs of exterminator design. It seemed appropriate to return the favor to Ryuutaisho. With a brisk wind from the west, these would be an unpleasant surprise for that dragon.

"Jaken-sama, will you be okay?" Rin looked at the toad that was shaking so hard he looked like he would come apart.

"I am fine! Unlike you ningen I have no fear of battle!"

"If you say so, Jaken-sama." The toad would be helping with the attack, using his staff to ignite the bombs that Rin and Sango dropped. As long as he did not pass out first.

"I think everything is ready." Sango sat with Kirara in her lap, watching the soldiers below them face off.

"Now what do we do, Sango-chan?"

"We wait."

---

"There's so many." Kagome looked down from her perch.

"Hai. Everything Ryuutaisho could put together. The first few ranks are probably conscripts." Akira stood at her side, watching with cold eyes. Kagome had insisted that Akira stay with her. Between the secluded location, Akira's guard, Kagome's guard, and the miko herself, the lady would be safe.

Rearranging her quivers, Kagome fidgeted in the tension. "I can't take this! Everyone is just standing around, staring at each other! Do something!"

"Each is waiting for the other to make the first move."

Kagome's eyes found Sesshomaru, a spot of white in the chaos. There was no worry now, just a cold desire for destruction. She shivered and pulled back, afraid that she would get sucked in. 'Killing perfection.'

A flash of orange caught Kagome's eye, as both groups of guards moved to intercept this threat. Snapping her head around, she spotted Shippo coming to a sliding stop when he spotted the sharp objects being pointed in his direction. "Save me, Kagome!"

"Hold! That's a friend of mine!"

The Captain spared a glare for Kagome. "Miko, that doesn't mean he is not a threat. You have peculiar taste in friends."

"Knock that off. Come over here Shippo, and what are you doing? You are supposed to be in Merkamou's camp."

The kit scruffed his feet, looking at the ground. "I snuck out. I told them I had a message, and then I tracked you up here. I was worried about you, Kagome! I didn't like the idea of you going into battle without me to protect you."

The guards glared at the impertinent kit.

"Oh, Shippo." Kagome swept him up into a suffocating hug. "Of course you can help protect me, and Akira-sama, too."

"I would be honored to defend the Ladies of the East and West!" Puffing up his chest, he turned to glare at the fighters gathering below them. "They better not try to touch either of you."

"I just want them to do something already. I am so tired of waiting."

"I think you will be getting your wish, Kagome-sama." Akira pointed to a ripple of movement in Ryuutaisho's forces. There was a roar building as the soldiers started to yell, challenging their opponents. Taunting them.

There was no reply from Sesshomaru's forces as they waited. Ryuutaisho would have to move first. The inu-youkai was patient, and he would wait for his opponent to start making mistakes.

The roaring echoed off of the hills, making Kagome's hands tremble. Shippo squeaked and ducked behind her, peeking out at the battlefield from his new refuge. The dragon next to her never moved, even as Ryuutaisho's forces charged across the grass, running to meet the waiting Sesshomaru.

---

"That's our cue."

Kirara and Ah-Un launched into the air, bringing their riders and the surprises with them. As the youkai swept beneath them, Sango and Rin went low to drop the innocuous looking balls. Jaken clung to the back of Ah-Un, using his staff to ignite the bombs once they were on the ground. With each explosion there was a larger cloud of green smoke spreading across the battlefield. The wind blew it towards Ryuutaisho's forces, sending any caught in the smoke to their knees while gasping for breath.

"That is the last of them, Sango-chan!" Rin pulled Ah-Un up towards the clouds, watching the chaos that had once been an organized charge. The uninjured were regrouping and continuing the charge, but the wind had been knocked from their sails.

On the hill Rin could see two of Ryuutaisho's sons transforming, preparing to take to the sky. 'Shit.' "Sango-chan, we have a problem!"

"Retreat!" Jaken clung to the back of Ah-Un's saddle as he shook.

"Shut up, Jaken-sama!"

"We take them, Rin-chan. If we can get them near Kagome-chan she can help, or one of the taiyoukai can jump in." Sango had Hirakotsu at the ready, facing the oncoming threat.

"Hai, Sango-chan. Jaken-sama, hang on." Rin drew one of her katanas, watching as the dragons approached.

"Oh no!" Jaken wailed as Ah-Un climbed towards the two taiyoukai.

---

"Attack."

The green smoke had blown into Ryuutaisho's forces, leaving confusion and injured youkai in its wake. Now that the battlefield was clear Sesshomaru sent his own forces charging across the grass. Tokijin was in his hand, and the thirst for revenge would finally be sated.

Moving with a grace that no creature of death should possess, he cut into the chaos, slashing down any that wore the dragon's crest. He slid through them, hardly noticing most of the attacks. His goal was on the hill, watching over the bloodshed that was his doing.

Ryuutaisho.

Even with his single minded purpose, Sesshomaru was aware that his forces were outnumbered. As long as Ryuutaisho and his sons were killed the victory would be his, but the sons were taking to the sky. Claws and poison would take their toll on the troops, turning away the advantage of Sango's attack.

'If Akira betrays me, I will see her die very slowly.'

---

Another arrow whipped through the air, destroying a handful of youkai. "There are too many, Akira-sama! I think we're in trouble."

"Wait for it, Kagome-sama." Akira's eyes were locked on the battle, waiting. Seeing a flash of light, she pulled out a mirror of her own and flashed light back towards the battle.

A new roar erupted as part of Ryuutaisho's forces turned on their comrades, tearing them apart. A closer inspection showed that these forces had a slightly different uniform.

"What did you do, Akira-sama?"

"Those are the forces from my family. Ryuutaisho was a fool to put them into battle. His desperation will be his downfall."

Attacked from two sides and still fighting off the effects of the poison bombs, Ryuutaisho's forces fell back. More of the taiyoukai were taking to the sky, leaving only Ryuutaisho and one son to watch the carnage.

"My eldest, Yukio." Staying back, Akira watched as her sons attacked from the sky, not caring what uniform they hit.

High above them Kagome could see Rin and Sango locked in combat with two of the dragons. "Rin-chan! Sango-chan!"

Seeing the two ningens twisting through the sky with her sons gave Akira a feeling of hopelessness. "You should not watch, Kagome-sama."

"We have to help them, Kagome!" Shippo was frantic as he saw the two so overmatched.

"Shows what you know. It would take a hell of a lot more then a couple of dragons to bring those two down." The Captain growled to himself as he tried to keep his attention off of his protégé. "No matter what else may be said about them, ningens are too stubborn to give up."

Releasing another arrow into a group of unfortunate youkai, Kagome smiled. "Arigato, Captain."

---

" Hiraikotsu!"

The dragon dodged the first pass, but the second pass of the giant boomerang caught it in the chest. Roaring, the dragon swerved away from the attacking ningen. The smaller of the two was diving at Ah-Un, only to be distracted when it got a face full of flames.

"Take that, you slimy lizard!" Clinging to Ah-Un with one hand, Jaken was still putting in a decent performance with his staff. "Face the wrath of the Staff of Two Heads!"

With a growl the smaller dragon swerved around the fire attacks to aim a swipe at Ah-Un. Twin blasts from the two heads helped to keep Rin's mount in one piece as he got in close enough to let Rin have a shot.

A long gash opened up along the dragon's face. A dragon would not be susceptible to dragon's blood, but there was still some smoke as the cut sizzled. It was more then Rin had hoped for. Ah-Un swept under the dragon, dodging claws to give Rin a shot at the soft belly. Black blood dripped on Rin as the dragon roared. A snap of the tail almost unseated her as her arm was slashed open.

A burst of flame from Jaken gave Rin time to recover. A roar from Kirara showed that she was still very much in the fight. Hiraikotsu took another chunk from the dragon, but was knocked to the ground. Sango drew her short sword. "We have to get them down, Rin-chan!"

"That will never happen," the smaller dragon roared at them, belching a cloud of black poison.

With masks on Rin and Sango were safe, but the youkai were not. "Climb, Ah-Un!"

Rin was wracking her brain. With this many enemies she could not repeat her stunt that had worked with the single taiyoukai. 'How the hell do we get them down?'

Leaving Ah-Un to steer himself, Rin pushed up the shoulder plate of her armor to pull out some rope. 'This had better work.'

The end of the rope was tied around the hilt of a katana. Holding the sword rather like a spear, the exterminator and youkai charged the dragon. Throwing with all of her strength, she buried her katana to the hilt in the dragon's neck, actually braced against the spine. Ah-Un looped around the dragon's neck, wrapping the rope around it.

Howls of rage echoed across the sky as the dragon realized what was happening. His brother's attempt at rescue was thwarted by a blast from Jaken and a charge by Kirara. Ah-Un was straining against his captive until Kirara slammed into it.

"Kagome-chan!"

The miko watched as her friends dragged the struggling dragon down, bringing it within her range. "Hai, Rin-chan!"

She notched an arrow, waiting for her shot as the larger dragon dived again to rescue his brother.

Three screams split the sky as not one, but three hawks dived at the loose dragon. Distracted, the smaller dragon was pulled down to the waiting miko. There was a flash of pink, and the defiant roars turned into pained howls. The arrow began to purify the dragon, starting at the chest and spreading through the creature. A second and third arrow sent the energy coursing faster through the taiyoukai, ripping the body apart.

Rin dove in to retrieve her katana, yanking it free of the dragon and the rope. Using her freed weapon she was able to slash through the dragon's throat, sending it to the ground. Sango retrieved her boomerang and used it to deliver the final blow, removing the head.

"One down, five to go!" Sango and Kirara arced back into the sky to assist the hawks with Rin, Ah-Un, and Jaken right behind them.

---

Slicing through another lowly youkai, Sesshomaru looked up the rise, locking onto Ryuutaisho and his son. There was nothing between them anymore, and for the first time the two enemies saw each other in the flesh.

Ryuutaisho gestured to his son, sending the reluctant young lord into the sky. The Lord of the East would face this threat alone. "Sesshomaru."

"Ryuutaisho."

"What a pleasure to finally meet you." The dragon moved towards the inu-youkai, smiling at his opponent. "I hope to have the pleasure of meeting your mate today as well."

A deep growl rolled through Sesshomaru's chest as he snapped Tokijin into a guard position.

"A ningen. How the mighty have fallen. My mate may be troublesome, but you will notice that my sons are all pure blooded taiyoukai. There will be no disgusting mutts ruling my lands."

Mentioning Sesshomaru's pups was a serious miscalculation. A surge of fury ripped through him, images of his son and daughter under attack goading his bestial nature into action. A snarl marred his usually flawless face as he swung Tokijin, sending a blast of power at Ryuutaisho.

Leaping away, Ryuutaisho sneered at his opponenent. "Pathetic. She has made you pathetic and sent you to your destruction."

"You talk far too much." Another blast from Tokijin gouged the earth, leaving a long canyon. Ryuutaisho leapt back, his hair singed but otherwise untouched.

"Do you truly intend to fight me like this? Have you become so tame that you cannot release your true self? This is very sad, Sesshomaru. So long I have longed to face you, only to find that the Great Lord of the West is a lap dog to a miko."

Lunging forward, Sesshomaru closed the distance and forced Ryuutaisho to draw his own weapon. The blades sparked when they hit, the two taiyoukai locked together as they pushed. Tokijin surged with power, forcing Ryuutaisho back again. Blows rang out as the two swung, trying to find the other's weakness. Leaping away from a lunge, Sesshomaru's poison whip snapped into existence. It lashed out to strike Ryuutaisho across the shoulder, leaving a smoldering gash. His opponent snarled and leapt, colliding with Sesshomaru in mid air.

The two hit the ground, grappling with each other. Ryuutaisho caught Sesshomaru's wrist in his hand, slowing him enough to allow the dragon's sword to find its target and twist. The inu-youkai snarled as he knocked his opponent aside and pulled the sword out of his own body. It would take more then that to kill him, but it would slow him down. Wheezing from the damage done to a lung, he faced off with the now unarmed dragon.

"I will show you how a true taiyoukai does battle." Ryuutaisho's form twisted as power surged around him. A black dragon with crimson eyes took his place, the claws leaving long furrows in the ground as they flexed in anticipation.

It was a giant white dog that now faced him, poison dripping from his fangs to leave burning craters beneath him. Blood was still running from his chest, but Sesshomaru would ignore it. The dragon in front of him would be destroyed.

---

The second of the dragons crashed to earth, driven down by the three hawks. Shippo let out a cheer before remembering who was behind him. "Gomen, Akira-sama."

Akira ignored the kit, instead focusing on the battle outside. She had seen the last of her sons take to the sky, and he was now raining destruction down with his brothers. Yukio seemed to be looking for something as he swept over the fighting youkai, and Akira had the overwhelming urge to hide. "Kagome-sama, we may wish to retreat into the cave."

"Why?" The miko unleashed another of her arrows into the youkai, the now familiar flash leaving nothing but some small piles of ash.

The flash was not missed by the hunting dragon. He swerved to turn towards them. Frantic, Akira grabbed Kagome's arm. "We must move before he finds us."

"Too late!" Shippo pointed as the dragon in question zeroed in on their location, ignoring the battle in favor of tracking down the miko.

"Get in the cave!" The Captain physically forced Kagome back, pushing her into the shelter as the latest threat came to a stop and watched them.

"Mother. What a surprise." The deep growl of the dragon sent small rocks tumbling down from the cliff.

"Yukio." Akira moved from the back of the cave to look towards her son.

"I should have known that you would turn traitor. And with a miko." The dragon drew back, preparing to poison every occupant of the cave as the guards tried to find a way to get the ladies out.

"Fox fire!" Shippo jumped to the mouth of the cave, giving Yukio a face full of flames. Not the tiny puffs he would manage when he was younger, but now a large blast of fire that succeeded in driving the dragon back and stopping the attack.

An arrow from Kagome whistled by, grazing the dragon as it swerved away and leaving a long burn down its side. "Damn it, hold still!"

---

"Kagome-chan!" Rin could see a dragon that was now focused on Kagome's hiding spot. Leaving the battle in mid air, she sent Ah-Un diving down to save her friend.

---

A second blast of fox fire infuriated the dragon, his roars echoing through the cave and making Kagome clamp her hands over her ears. He charged, his claws stretching out to reach inside and rip the life away from any foolish enough to be in the way.

Twin blasts threw the taiyoukai's charge off, forcing him to swerve in order to avoid hitting the cliff. Ah-Un gave his matching roars as he swept out of the sky, bringing in Rin for the attack. "Get away from them, you over grown lizard!"

As Ah-Un swept by there was a blast of flame, Jaken's attack. The unlikely trio turned and whipped away, practically begging the taiyoukai to chase them.

Yukio turned away from the females hiding in the cave so he could deal with this attack from above. Without a second glance, he chased the two headed dragon across the sky.

"That was way too close." Shippo dropped into a sitting position on the ground. "I don't want to ever be so close to a mad dragon ever again."

"Rin-san should enlist the aid of some of the other fighters if she is going to deal with my eldest." The deep blue eyes followed the twin headed dragon as they tried to lose their pursuer.

"Sesshomaru!" Kagome threw her head up, scanning the battle franticly. "He's in trouble! Ryuutaisho hurt him, and it's not good!"

"What are you doing, Kagome-sama?" Akira watched as Kagome threw a new quiver of arrows onto her back and slipped her bow onto her shoulder.

"I'm going to go save him, of course."

"You cannot go through this battle, you will be killed."

"I have to help him! I love him! Shippo, stay with Akira-sama!"

Akira stared as the tiny miko started to scramble down the cliff, slipping on loose rocks. Her guard was struggling to keep up on the unsafe footing. 'Is she insane? What is she doing?'

The dragon inside of Akira was roaring, howling for release. It strained against its leash, trying to break free and assist in the destruction of Ryuutaisho. Akira shook as she watched her friend scramble towards her certain destruction.

"Akira-sama, what do we do? We can't let her go. What are we going to do?" Shippo frantically darted back and forth across the mouth of the cave, watching Kagome as she struggled.

'Destroyed by Ryuutaisho. My mate. It is my fault all of this has happened. They are all fighting because I was too much of a coward to fight him myself. My mate, my sons, my responsibility. But I cannot fight him! He would destroy me!'

'My responsibility. My kill!'

The shaking intensified as Akira fought off her youkai urges. 'That is not my place. I have never fought before. A dagger in the dark, certainly, but nothing like this. It would be suicide.'

The miko screeched as she slipped and fell, tumbling into the youkai war.

"Kagome-sama!" "Kagome!"

'My kill!'

'How can I let her go to a certain death at the claws of my mate? But can I help her?'

The howling deep inside of her grew as it fought to be free.

'Now! Now! Kill!'

For the first time in her life, Akira let go of the leash.


	51. East vs West

A/N: Probably the most evil cliffie I ever came up with. I'm so proud. But I'm just too nice to leave anyone hanging for very long. I don't come up with much of the plot, the voices in my head tell me stories and I just type them. I like the voices. So Akira is cool now, huh? Hee hee hee. I hate being predictable. I really do. I present more violence! I own zippo.

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Flat on her back, Kagome looked around as her guard defended her from the war continuing around her. She knew her mate was on the other side of this war, and that she needed to get there. Scrambling to her feet, she tried to find a way across the chaos.

A roar sent everyone ducking down to the ground, scanning the skies for Ryuutaisho's sons. A deep blue dragon, larger then any of the sons, dived down from the cliff and aimed for Kagome. The miko notched an arrow, aiming at the new threat, but hesitating as the dragon landed next to her.

"Kagome-sama."

The miko's heart skipped a few beats as the dragon stared at her, the booming voice shaking her to the bone. Two of her guards ran forward to attack, only to be knocked aside like toys. A growl rumbled through the dragon's chest as it faced the miko.

"Akira-sama?" The bow and arrow lowered as Kagome stared at the dragon's eyes, still the eyes of the Lady of the East.

"We will find your mate. And mine."

----

Two of Ryuutaisho's sons were dead, and a third was badly injured, but the last two were proving to be very difficult to kill. One of the hawks was dead, and Rin had a moment of panic before she saw Merkamou soaring across the sky, uninjured.

Diving under Yukio, Rin swept up with a katana in an attempt to slash into his hide. A swinging claw hit Ah-Un, sending him out of the air. Rin clung to him, feeling him try to pull out of the dive. He regained control, but they were falling too fast.

Slamming into the ground, Rin was thrown from the dragon. Jaken screeched and hung on as Ah-Un slid across the ground for a good fifty feet.

Stunned, Rin was not yet aware of where she had landed. Youkai surrounded her, all wearing Ryuutaisho's crest. A snarling form leapt and landed over top of her, keeping her down. Confused eyes found four hairy legs around her, attached to a huge, black, snarling dog. A dog that was warning the other youkai away. Staring at the dog, Rin felt recognition wash over her. "Captain?"

Yukio was coming around for another pass, determined to destroy the ningen that had dared to attack and taunt him. The other youkai ran for cover, knowing that they would be just as likely of targets as the allies of Sesshomaru. The Captain stood his ground, snarling at the approaching dragon. As the taiyoukai swept low the Captain leapt, catching onto his opponent's throat and ripping out a chunk of flesh. He landed and spit out the disgusting mess, returning to the now standing Rin to wait for the next attack.

"I need to get Ah-Un." Rin was looking over to the rather dazed looking dragon, with an equally dazed looking Jaken still perched on his back.

The Captain gave her a hard shove towards her mount before returning his attention to Yukio. Blood was pouring from the dragon's neck as he spun about to attack again. Hunkering down low, the dog was waiting for his chance to land another hit. He leapt again, digging into the dragon's side with his claws as he bit down on a front leg.

A ferocious roar shook the valley as Yukio slammed into the ground, pinned the dog underneath him. He twisted, sharp teeth seeking the annoying youkai that was still ripping into his side. The dog released, but only to latch on to Yukio's snout as it came into range. A flip of Yukio's head sent the Captain slamming into the ground again, stunning him. There was a quick movement of claws, a splash of blood, and the dog was no longer moving.

"Captain!" Rin left Ah-Un behind as she ran to her mentor. Yukio was already lifting away, returning to the battle in the sky. The ningen found her protector almost ripped in half, blood pouring everywhere. She dropped by his head, pulling the massive form into her lap as she sobbed. "Get up! You cannot leave Rin! Captain! Rin is sorry she was not fast enough. Please get up."

Her fingers tightened in his fur, rage quickly replacing sorrow. That dragon had killed her Captain, and he would pay. She carefully set the head back down and rose, pushing her tears away. She scanned the sky, looking for Yukio. He was not far away, slashing through some of Sesshomaru's troops as he returned to his hunt for the miko.

"Son of Ryuutaisho! Get over here and fight me!"

The dragon barely glanced her way as he continued his slaughter.

"I am challenging you! Now! Fight me, you coward! I am challenging you!" Rin's throat felt as though it was bleeding as she screamed, but she now had the dragon's attention. He slowed and turned, drifting back her way. "I challenge you, son of Ryuutaisho!"

The dragon settled to the ground and changed back to the more human form. "Did he mean something to you, ningen? Enough to commit suicide?"

"You will pay for killing him." Rin drew both of her katanas. "Even if it means my life, you will die today."

"You must be that ningen in Sesshomaru's court. Your reputation precedes you." Yukio pulled his own sword.

"I am Rin, ward of Sesshomaru-sama, and I have helped to kill two of your brothers. Now I will kill you."

"Amuse me, little one. Then this will be worth my time."

Rin could barely see him as he lunged at her, but she was able to get her katanas up in time. The two circled, exchanging rapid blows as they tested each other's ability. The hits from the dragon could be felt through her entire arm, but she ignored it. She ignored the ache in her arm from her earlier injury, and the sharp pains from her wrist from her fall from Ah-Un. The only thing she saw was her opponent, and the only thought was of his destruction.

Yukio tried to overpower her, but she twisted, letting the blade slide along one of her own instead of trying to block. She brought an elbow up, connecting with his head and surprising him. He slammed a shoulder into Rin, making her stumble back and leaving her open to attack. She blocked the shot that was aimed for her heart, but it was deflected down so that it hit her in the hip. Gritting her teeth, she took advantage of the fact that the sword was still in her body to slam into her opponent's sword arm, slicing halfway into the bone.

Snatching his blade back, the dragon growled as he looked at his arm. 'Damn her. That will slow me down.'

'Oh, hell, that is not good.' Rin was bleeding, and her right leg would not support her weight properly now. She shifted her stance so that most of her weight was on her left leg and waited for her opponent's next move. The dragon had switched hands, now fighting with his left hand. He was more wary of her now that she had injured him.

"Fascinating, ningen. I should take you alive, you would make an amusing play thing."

"Fuck off."

Rin saw his move coming, his annoyance making him sloppy. She caught his blade with hers, trying to push him back but she was not strong enough. He knocked her to the ground, trying to slam his blade through her. She rolled, desperate to get away, and kicked out to try and trip him up. She was not able to trip him, but she did distract him enough to allow her to find her feet again.

Blood was soaking through her armor, leaving her weak. Fear was starting to pick at her as the dragon moved towards her again. Rin was in over her head, and she knew it. She knew this was a fight she would not win. 'If I must die, then he is coming with me.'

There was movement, a figure coming towards them. Rin was certain she knew who he was, and she was equally certain that he had found the Captain's body. Now she had a chance.

Yukio could see his opponent weakening. He did want to take her alive, since she would be very amusing. He feinted to the left before slashing at her, trying to hit one of her arms. She blocked, sliding up his blades to get in close to him. His claws sunk into her shoulder as he grabbed her with his free arm. One of the katanas was slammed into his leg, but she left it there. Her now empty hand found a dagger, driving it into his throat. Gagging, Yukio fell back and yanked the katana from his leg and the dagger from his throat. Rin stayed with him, kicking him in the groin as she swung her remaining katana.

Seeing the blow coming, Yukio slammed his blade into her, trying to kill her before the blow could land. The ningen knew what was coming, and twisted so that the blade sunk into her left shoulder, leaving her right arm free to finish the blow. The katana flashed as it slammed into the side of his chest and came out the other side. Kicking her way free, Rin got away as Isamu called down the lightning.

Arcs of electricity ran up and down the dragon as he screamed. Isamu called down another bolt, then another, burning the dragon away until there was nothing left, not even ash.

Rin pulled Yukio's sword from her shoulder, staggering. She retrieved her katanas and dagger from where Yukio had once stood as the world spun around her. The youkai that had stayed back during the battle were now closing in on her, looking to destroy the dangerous fighter while she was so weak. Isamu was fighting his own attackers, and probably had not even noticed that she was in trouble. She knew she could not take all of them in her condition, but she would not go down without a fight.

Holding both blades tightly, she watched the youkai. Desperation made her heart pound and her arms burn. Trying to hold them off, Rin slashed her blades through the air, screaming at them.

A slash of black ripped through the air, striking her opponents down.

'What the hell?' Rin stared at her own katanas as though she had never seen them before. The black surfaces now had random patterns of silver across them, rather like lightning. 'I guess I will need to write Totosai.'

Rin could hear Ah-Un coming up beside her. She sheathed both of her katanas and dragged herself into the saddle as he whipped by. Jaken made a rude face at the youkai on the ground as they soared away.

"Isamu!" Rin dove down next to the snow leopard, taller then Ah-Un's heads at the shoulder. "Arigato, Isamu."

The snow leopard nodded to her, then turned to exact revenge on the forces that had killed his weapon's master.

----

The giant dog had the dragon pinned to the ground, dragging claws down its side, but was knocked away by a blow from the dragon's tail. Snarling, the dog rolled to its feet and charged again. The dragon tried to make it into the air but was dragged back down by the furious taiyoukai he was fighting. Ryuutaisho twisted, sinking fangs into Sesshomaru's shoulder as the dog's claws opened the side of his chest.

Ripping free, Sesshomaru turned to face his opponent again. The wound in his chest was slowing him, and now the bite on his shoulder was leaking his blood into the dirt. A part of his mind knew he was in trouble, but the fury from the attacks on his family had not faded yet. He slammed into Ryuutaisho's back, biting at the back of his neck in an attempt to break the dragon's spine. The dragon slammed onto his own back, stunning the inu-youkai but not enough to make him let go. A hit from the tail cut into his thigh, loosening his grip. Ryuutaisho broke free, throwing Sesshomaru to the ground again. Before he could be blocked he was in the air, fleeing out of Sesshomaru's range.

The dog was slower to get up this time. His opponent was seriously injured, but Sesshomaru's strength was flowing away. 'I must end this now.'

"Ryuutaisho!"

Both taiyoukai looked into the sky to see an arrow whistling through the air, closely followed by the miko riding a massive blue dragon. Ryuutaisho dodged, but was hit in the leg. As the purifying energy started to spread through his leg he bit through his own body, stopping the damage. The limb fell to the ground as Kagome and Akira dropped down next to Sesshomaru.

"You! You are that filthy miko! I will hear you scream!"

Kagome slid off of Akira and rushed to Sesshomaru's side. Standing next to her mate she yelled back at Ryuutaisho. "Stinking cross-eyed lizard!"

"How dare you!" Ryuutaisho was moving in to attack when he took a closer look at the dragon that was waiting for him.

"Akira? Impossible." Ryuutaisho lowered to eye the blue dragon who was snarling at him. "Akira would never have the courage to face me, and was not nearly strong enough to assume this form."

"You are wrong, Ryuutaisho. I was always much stronger than you gave me credit for." Akira leapt after him. She had no experience in battle, but instinct was taking over. She wanted to get a hold of her mate's throat and crush the life out of him.

The uninjured female was able to catch up with her mate, slamming into him as he tried to run. The two dragons twisted in the air as they each sought a grip that would kill their opponent. Sesshomaru growled as his opponent moved away, giving his own mate a glare.

"What? She can help kill him, it's her mate after all." Kagome watched as Akira snapped her jaws, trying to catch her opponent's throat. "I don't know if she is up to this, though."

"I was more interested in why he seems to hate you more then me."

"Oh, ah, well, I can explain that one later, okay?"

Akira used her superior size to knock her mate back, trying to get him back to the ground. Sesshomaru would be able to finish him much faster than she could. Claws dragged across her hide, shocking her as she felt true pain for the first time. It drove her insane, making her lock on to him with her claws and slam her fangs into him. The injured male howled as the larger female ripped into him. He was dropping out of the sky, back down towards the inu-youkai that was waiting for him.

Arrow at the ready, Kagome stood next to Sesshomaru. The inu-youkai was tensing, ready to leap as soon as Akira could bring the male back down. The female was doing a good job, ripping into Ryuutaisho as she pressed him down. A bite from Ryuutaisho threatened to shake Akira loose, her claws slipping as she fought against the pain from his bite. Regaining her grip, she lashed at him with her tail while biting into his shoulder that was still smoldering from Kagome's attack. Howling, Ryuutaisho dropped again.

"Move, Akira!" Kagome saw Sesshomaru launch into the air, taking Akira's place against Ryuutaisho. As the dragon slammed into the ground the dog was able to slash across his face, poison burning one eye away. The growls turned to howls as the dragon struggled to escape. The miko saw a clear shot. She fired her arrow, feeling the air pulse with the power she put into the destruction of her pups' attacker. Sesshomaru jumped free, not wishing to be caught in the backlash of the attack. An explosion rocked the area as the arrow hit its target. The giant dog felt as though his youki was bleeding away as he knocked the injured dragon away before she could get hit with the explosion.

As the glow faded there was nothing but a pile of bones and ash. The miko staggered as the world spun around her. Sesshomaru was back into his more human form, taking her arm to support her even as his own balance failed. She looked up at him as her vision went gray. "Arigato, jo-chan."

The miko slipped to the ground, unconscious. Almost immediately after, Sesshomaru collapsed beside her, also unconscious. Akira was back to her usual form, and was slumping to the ground as her body worked to heal her bites and slashes. She saw Kagome collapse, quickly followed by Sesshomaru. She rummaged through her kimono, finding her mirror. Hopefully someone was still watching. She turned and flashed a pattern towards the battle. She repeated it three times before a dragon set down next to her. With a swirl of energy it transformed to the human shape and bowed to her. "Lady Akira."

"Ryuutaisho is dead. We must get these two away from here until they can recover."

"My lady, that is the Lord of the West. Why are we helping him?"

"You do not question the ruler of the East. We are moving them to safety."

"Hai, my lady." The dragon quickly transformed back and went to get help.

Akira moved to Kagome's side, checking her breathing. The miko was pale, but alive and her heartbeat was steady. "Arigato, Kagome. Now I will help you."

----

Rin was on the fringes of the battle field, tying a makeshift bandage over her own hip. Jaken was doing the same to her shoulder, trying to stop her blood loss before she lost consciousness.

"Baka ningen, you should not have challenged that taiyoukai. You are lucky to still be alive!" Jaken grumbled and fussed as he carefully tied her bandage.

"Hai, Jaken-sama." Rolling her eyes, Rin ignored Jaken's comments as she watched the battle ending. Only one or Ryuutaisho's sons was left, and the forces on the ground had the Eastern army on the retreat. She had seen a huge explosion where Ryuutaisho had been, and she was hopeful that Kagome had been able to exact revenge for all that the dragon had done.

"Rin-chan! I was so worried!" Sango and Kirara raced over to the trio. "I didn't see you after Ah-Un crashed, and we could not find you anywhere."

"I will live, Sango-chan. That dragon killed the Captain."

"Oh, Rin-chan."

"He paid with his life." Rin focused on the saddle for a moment while she fought her tears away. Later, she would mourn later. Now she was still in a battle zone and there was no time for tears. "We are almost done."

"Hai, just the one dragon left. You stay here, you have done enough for one day."

"Hai, Sango-chan." Rolling her eyes at yet another nursemaid, Rin watched her instructor dive back into the fray. Her bandages were now set, leaving her feeling rather silly sitting and watching a battle. 'I should be involved, not just sitting here.'

The remaining dragon was diving low, cutting through the forces as the taiyoukai and Sango chased him down. Rin spotted a lone figure in red, surrounded by attacking youkai on the ground. It was the uniform of the Southern armies, and he looked like he was in trouble. She picked up the reins, seeing an ally in such a hopeless situation goading her into action.

"Rin, you insane creature, what are you doing? You are not supposed to fight anymore today, that exterminator said so! Stop!" Jaken clung to her as Ah-Un dove down.

With her shoulder so badly injured the katanas were out of the question, but she could still pull off a rescue. It would just require different tactics. She dove Ah-Un right into the crowd, sending the youkai flying through the air as the dragon plowed through them. 'Not very skilled, or elegant, but still effective.'

Ah-Un swung around, slowing as he passed the stranger. Rin offered her good arm, helping him up behind her. Jaken yelled and dove in front of Rin as the youkai was pulled up behind her. She turned the dragon again, Ah-Un sending blasts down at the opposing youkai and chasing them into a very disorganized retreat.

"Who the hell are you?"

'Rude.' Rin and Jaken both threw a glares at the passenger. "Who are you?"

"I am Takashi, a commander in the Southern armies. Now who the hell are you?"

The Southern camp was coming up beneath them. Rin sent Ah-Un down to drop the rude male off. "Tell Merkamou his merlin says hi."

The youkai was dumped onto the ground in a tangled heap as the dragon climbed back towards the clouds. The toad was yelling profanities at him as he was carried away. 'Merlin? What was she?'

----

The final dragon dropped to the ground, Merkamou soaring away from him with a final scream. The last of the Eastern armies was running from the battle field, desperately trying to get away. Akira was in the Eastern camp with her family, already establishing her control of the Eastern lands. With all of her sons dead, there would be no one to contest her claim. If anyone tried, her family would strike them down.

Walking out of the command tent, Akira rested a hand on her shoulder. Under her new kimono there was a bandage over the bite from her mate. 'Former mate.' The thought still brought a smile to her lips every time it occurred. She was free, and she had even helped to bring about his demise. She had locked onto him, grappled with him, and drawn his blood. The dragon inside of her was quiet now, but she somehow suspected that it would have a much stronger voice now that it had tasted freedom.

'So be it. I will not cower behind anyone again. These are my lands now, and I will defend them myself if needed.'

In a nearby tent her guests were resting. Akira found herself going to check on the miko, despite the fact that she knew her servants would fetch her the second they woke up. She wanted to see them with her own eyes and verify again that Kagome would recover from the battle. Ducking into the darkened tent she found the couple as she had left them. Unmoving, but with a strong pulse. Why Sesshomaru was unconscious was a mystery, but it was easy enough to figure out why the miko had dropped. It had been an enormous surge of power to destroy Ryuutaisho, and it had drained her to the point of collapse.

Kneeling down, Akira brushed Kagome's hair out of her face. She would wait here until her friend awoke.

It was several hours before she heard movement. First Kagome, then Sesshomaru opened their eyes. Kagome moaned, shut her eyes again, and clamped a hand to her forehead while the inu-youkai leapt to his feet and looked for a threat.

"Peace, Sesshomaru-sama. You are in my camp. We brought you here to recover." Akira stayed at Kagome's side, hopeful that her guest would not strike her before realizing where he was.

"Your camp?" Sesshomaru moved to check on Kagome as he glared at the taiyoukai.

"Hai. My family has already moved to finalize my position. This is my camp now."

Challenge passed between the two taiyoukai. Akira was no longer a refugee in need of help, she was now the ruler of the Eastern lands. She was now one of the most powerful taiyoukai in Japan, and would qualify as a threat.

"Both of you stop that." Kagome did not even bother to reopen her eyes. "Sesshomaru, you knew that she would be taking over. Akira, it's surprising how quickly you were able to get everything set up. But good."

"Hn." Sesshomaru helped his mate to sit up, carefully watching her every move. "Can you stand?"

"Wait a few minutes. With the way the world is moving around I'm sure I wouldn't make it very far."

"We need to return to our own camp, before they begin to suspect that we have been killed."

"I know, I know. I'll be up in a minute."

The inu-youkai was not feeling patient. He pulled Kagome up into his arms, earning himself a weak smack.

"Hey, put me down."

"No." Sparing a nod for Akira, Sesshomaru took his mate out of the tent. He summoned his youki cloud and set off for his own camp on the other side of the battle field. Even before he touched down he could hear the sounds of celebration. There was cheering and singing, a cacophony that only got louder with the return of the Western Lord.

"Kagome-chan!" Sango hurtled towards them, ignoring Sesshomaru as she grabbed onto Kagome. "You're safe."

"Of course, I was with Sesshomaru. Where's Rin?" Kagome was already sweeping the camp with her eyes, looking for her comrades.

"Over in the command tent with the healer. She got pretty beat up, but the healer says she will be fine."

"I need to see her." Pleading eyes convinced Sesshomaru to take his miko to see Rin. He was also concerned for his ward, but he would not let that show.

Rin was lying on her back with her head propped up on a cloak. The healer was finishing up his bandages on her shoulder, pushing the kimono she had changed into back over her shoulder. Her left arm was in a sling, supporting it while her shoulder healed. "Do us both a favor, and stay down this time. Do not use that arm until I say so."

"Hai, Nori." Sighing, the young woman glared at the ceiling. She heard Sesshomaru come in, and rolled over to find him covered in blood and carrying Kagome. "Kagome-chan! Sesshomaru-sama!"

"I'm fine, jo-chan. Just tired. How are you doing?"

"I'll live. At least that is what Nori is telling me. Sesshomaru-sama, are you . . . " Rin's voice trailed away as she looked at the impassive face.

"There were no life-threatening injuries."

The celebration outside could be clearly heard, finally sinking in to Kagome's mind. "Hey, we won. We won!"

"Of course."

"Arrogant bastard." Kagome wiggled loose of Sesshomaru to hug Sango. "We won!"

Sango blinked at her, then realization hit. "We did. Ryuutaisho is gone. Now it's Akira ruling. We won!"

"Hai!" The miko bounced around as best she could while exhausted. "Rin-chan, it's over! We won!"

"Hai." Rin kept her eyes on the roof of the tent, trying to keep the tears away. 'It is impossible to be happy when I have lost someone so important to me. It is just as bad as losing Sesshomaru-sama. Sesshomaru-sama . . .'

Rin rolled over again to look at her hero, and the two swords at his side. "Sesshomaru-sama, we are not done yet!"


	52. Victory

A/N: blush I'm so happy with the reactions from my latest fit of violence. Action scenes are so hard to write. That's why I stick with romance for the most part. And yes, we are back to our usually scheduled programming. Namely romantic chaos. You should not need an airsickness bag, blackXheart, but I'm going to give you a heads up anyways. Enjoy.

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The fire was dancing merrily, echoing the celebration going on around it. The Western camp was showing no signs of settling in for the night, especially since it seemed that every youkai in all three armies was coming to celebrate. Rin was propped up in a pile of cloaks and cushions with her arm in a sling, trying to keep the pressure off of her hip and shoulder. Watching the fire, she waited for Sesshomaru to return.

Kagome came out of the command tent, looking much better after a nap. She walked over to join Rin in watching the celebration. There was a loud cheer when the youkai recognized the Lady of the West, making the miko blush. Formalities were forgotten as they clapped her on the shoulder and pushed a bottle of sake into her hands.

Dropping next to Rin, Kagome indulged in a swallow from the bottle, feeling the burn as it slid down her throat. "Wheew, that much hasn't changed. How are you doing, Rin-chan?"

"I am waiting for Sesshomaru-sama. He is looking for the Captain. I could have taken him right there, but he would not let me leave."

"Of course not, jo-chan. You're hurt pretty badly."

"I could have taken Ah-Un, but he is hurt." Rin fidgeted while she peered into the dark, trying to see some sign of either inu-youkai. "What if something happened to him? What if Tensaiga does not work this time?"

"Be patient, Rin-chan. I'm sure the Captain will be here soon and ready to join in on the celebration."

"I hope so."

A group of guards were coming through the celebration, obviously still on duty. They were dressed in the uniforms of Akira's house, and they were escorting a small youkai.

"Shippo? What have you done?" Kagome pushed past the guards to scoop up the kit.

"Nothing! When Akira left she told her guards to watch me, and they wouldn't let me out of the cave. I've been in there this whole time, until a messenger arrived to recall her guards. Then they hauled me over to the Eastern camp. Then Akira sent them to bring me back over here. I've been so bored, Kagome! I missed the whole thing!" Shippo burrowed in Kagome's arms as the guard bowed to her and left for their own camp.

"But at least you're safe." Kagome set her young friend down, now secure that he was uninjured. "We're celebrating! Come and say hi to Rin-chan."

Shippo scampered over to Rin, quickly taking in her injured state. "Hi, Rin! Feeling better?"

"I have had better days."

'These two never stop.' Kagome pulled Shippo over to listen to the stories that were being told all around them.

The soldiers were exchanging tales of the battle, usually emphasizing their own courage or cunning. Kagome was serenaded with several versions of the battle with Ryuutaisho, ranging from her raining fiery death from above to Sesshomaru calling down a bolt from the heavens to destroy the dragon. As the night went on and the sake flowed, the versions became more and more extravagant.

"And Sesshomaru-sama took flight, his amazing will allowing him to follow that bastard into the sky to continue the battle. Bolts of pink energy flashed from his eyes, slicing the dragon to pieces."

"Wow." Kagome tried to not laugh as she watched the rather drunk youkai tell his story. He did not even seem to be aware of who he was talking to at the moment. A tickle at the back of her mind sent the miko's gaze past the youkai, watching a familiar figure come out of the night.

"I do not remember it that way."

The youkai scrambled for cover from that icy voice, leaving a giggling miko behind. Even Shippo ducked for cover at his sudden appearance. Rin was rigid next to her, staring at Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru-sama, did you . . ."

"Of course he did. Do you think Sesshomaru-sama couldn't track someone he has known his entire life, even in a battlefield?" The Captain gave Rin a glare as he stepped into the light of the campfire. "You should have more faith, Rin."

"Captain!" Rin struggled to get up, held down by Kagome. The Captain moved over to her side to help keep her from getting up, but was surprised when the ningen grabbed him in a hug. "Rin is so sorry; she will try harder next time. Rin is so happy to see you!"

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" The gruff youkai was staring with a combination of horror and pride at the ningen that was clinging to him. 'Damn females and their emotions.'

"Rin was not fast enough. She left you to deal with that dragon, and the Captain was killed! Rin is sorry."

"Stop that this instant." The Captain forced her to look at him, holding her good shoulder. "It was battle, and I am a warrior just as you are. It was not your job to protect me. I jumped into that battle, and I would do it again if I had the chance. You killed that dragon after I died, right?"

"Isamu helped."

"Somehow I think you would have managed on your own. It's good to hear that cub was able to do something useful. I don't ever want to hear you beat up on yourself for this again. I lost a fight, it happens. Sesshomaru-sama was able to bring me back so I could serve him again. That is all. From what I have heard, you put in an excellent showing. I am proud of you, Rin."

"Captain." Rin hugged her mentor tightly with her good arm, ignoring his armor and flustered expression.

"Sesshomaru-sama, how do I get her off of me?" he hissed to his lord.

"Kagome."

"Hai, hai. I'll get her." Kagome gently untangled Rin from the embarrassed youkai. "Let the Captain breathe, Rin."

Sniffling a bit, Rin sat back and let the Captain beat a hasty retreat. "I am glad to see you again, Captain."

"And in better shape then you, it seems. Stay down there before I knock you on the head and keep you down."

"Hai, Captain."

"Here, Captain. You probably need this more than I do right now." Kagome held out the bottle of sake that someone had handed to her.

"You are a blessed creature, miko." The Captain captured the bottle for himself, taking a long drink. "I'm going to go and check on what is left of my forces. Do you think that you two can stay out of trouble that long?"

"Of course." Kagome crossed her arms and glared. "Get out of here before I knock you around."

Snorting, he disappeared back into the dark.

Rin was finally relaxing in her pile of cushions, the haunted look leaving her eyes. "Okay, Kagome-chan. Now we can celebrate."

----

There was a good deal of drinking and yelling in the Southern camp, and Merkamou was reveling in it. As the soldiers celebrated outrageously, he moved through them and enjoyed the camaraderie. He had already seen to the body of his sister's mate who had been killed, and now he could relax.

"Takashi, well done!" Distantly related, Merkamou had known this commander since before he could walk. It was a relief to see that he had survived the battle.

"A great victory, Merkamou-sama. Here, you should try this vintage. It is much finer than that awful poison that is going around." Takashi handed a bottle to his lord. "Do you know how the other armies fared?"

"We all know how the East did." Unable to help himself, Merkamou had a quick laugh at the loser's expense before continuing on. "I was about to check with Sesshomaru-sama to see how it went for everyone else."

A memory plucked at Takashi's mind. "Merkamou-sama, do you know anyone called the merlin?"

The hawk went very still, watching Takashi. "Hai. Why do you ask?"

"I was pulled from the battle by a female that called herself the merlin. She said I should tell you 'hi'."

Shaking his head, Merkamou smiled at the image. "Now that makes sense. That is Rin-san, a member of Sesshomaru-sama's court."

"She smelled like a ningen."

"Hai, that she does because she is one."

"What was she doing in battle?"

"I do not suppose you saw a second fighter dressed in similar armor. No? Perhaps I should bring you with me to meet with Sesshomaru-sama. He has the most fascinating females in his court. The Lady of the West, Rin-san, and Sango-san should all be there, and most likely in rare form."

Takashi followed Merkamou to the Western camp where the celebration seemed to be concentrated. There were loud cheers when the Lord of the South was recognized, absolutely delighting the hawk lord. In the center of camp, outside of the command tent, they found a large fire with a group of females next to it. The inu lord was off to the side, talking with some of his officers.

"Sesshomaru-sama, I see that you are still amongst the living!" Merkamou called out to his ally, amused to see the flash of annoyance before the mask slipped back into place.

"Merkamou-sama."

"A complete success, with a terrible nuisance removed. And I see that the lovely ladies have all weathered the storm." An extravagant bow was directed at the three ningens that were smiling at him.

"Well, you seem to be in wonderful spirits, Merkamou-sama." Kagome stood from her place next to Rin and Sango. "I take it that you came out of this with none of your feathers ruffled."

"Oh, I will probably be limping for another day or two, but other then that I am in excellent condition. Kagome-sama, may I introduce Takashi, a commander in my forces. Takashi, the Lady of the West."

The smaller hawk bowed to the miko, amazement plain in his face.

Merkamou was not done with his commander yet. "I would also like to present Sango-san, a youkai exterminator, and Rin-san, who you have already met. Oh, and you already know my messenger Shippo."

"That I do, he has lost two messages for me so far." Takashi pinned the kit with a look.

"I did not!"

Sango stood to bow, but Rin nodded from her seat. The lack of movement was not lost on Merkamou. "Merlin, are you injured?"

The bravado was gone from his voice, and Rin felt her heart skip a beat at the genuine concern. "I will be fine, Merkamou-sama. I have hurt my hip and have been ordered to stay off of it. Takashi-sama, it is a pleasure to see you again." She gave the second hawk a small glare.

"Takashi, what did you do to upset the merlin already? It usually takes more than a first glance to set her off."

"I was, perhaps, a bit short with her when we met before." Takashi looked abashed, focusing on anything except for the annoyed ningen.

"A bit short? You were down right rude. I would think that you would be more grateful to someone who was rescuing you from such overwhelming odds."

"You rescued him?" Merkamou looked delighted. "You met her when she rescued you, and you were rude to her? You are lucky she is injured."

"Hai, my lord. Rin-san, I apologize for my behavior. I was rather, stressed at the time." Takashi gave Rin a low bow, earning a smile from her.

"I suppose I can accept that explanation, and the apology as well. I am in no mood to fight anyways, even if I were not injured. I have seen enough violence. Now I wish to relax."

"A wonderful idea. Kagome-sama, you are not drinking. Here, you can have some of mine."

"Oh, no." Kagome tried to back away, bumping into Sango. "I had one drink tonight, and that is plenty."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Kagome-chan. You can have one more drink." Sango reached past Kagome to take the offered bottle and took a long pull.

----

Rin clamped her hands over her ears in a vain attempt to block out the off key singing that was occurring next to her. Merkamou, Kagome, and Sango were butchering some drinking song involving a samurai and a geisha that was just shocking. Takashi did not know the words to this one, so he was silently watching as he memorized the lyrics. Shippo was sound asleep next to her, curled up in one of the cloaks. 'How can he sleep through this racket? He must have gotten used to staying near Merkamou and having to sleep through his snoring.'

"The next time we need to go to war we will simply instruct those three to sing. Any would run from that racket!" Rin gave up on blocking the noise out.

"You are just jealous because you do not know the words to any of these songs." Takashi finished off the bottle he had, giving it a glare before he cast it into the fire.

Clenching her fist, Rin tried to take a swing with her good arm, but the sake she had sampled had thrown her aim off. "Hold still, youkai!"

"I am holding still." Takashi watched with amusement as Rin braced herself. He was fascinated with this female. He would not soon forget the image of her slamming into his opponents, her eyes fierce. The hand that had pulled him up onto the dragon had been rough with calluses from her sword work, and her grip had been sure. On the other hand, the waist he had gripped had been slim, and her midnight hair had whipped around him as she carried him away.

"Oh. Oops." Rin stopped trying to hit the male, settling back down in her seat. "How did you end up following Merkamou-sama over here?"

"I gave him your message, and he insisted that I meet Sesshomaru-sama's fascinating females."

"Ah, I would guess that my message amused him to no end."

"It did, actually. Why are you called the merlin?"

The ningen smiled and looked into the fire. "That is a name he gave me a long time ago when I was just a pup. It was my first fight, and he was there. This was when Kagome-chan had first become Sesshomaru-sama's mate and there were many who tried to kill her. At a party, we were caught outside by about two dozen youkai who wanted to kill Kagome-chan. I was just a little thing. Merkamou-sama says that I only came up to his sash, but I think he is exaggerating. Anyways, I ended up killing two of the youkai. Before that I was called fledgling, but he changed it to merlin."

"And a most appropriate name, I believe."

Rin smiled even more brightly, glancing at the young lord from the corner of her eye. He was quite attractive, with long black hair that had iridescent feathers mixed in. His eyes were a dark brown, with an intense look that seemed out of place in his young face. There was a jagged black streak on one cheek, striking against skin that was a light bronze. Rin found that she liked the effect. Realizing that she was now staring, she snapped her eyes back to the front and blushed. 'I blame Akira. It must be her influence that has me wishing that I had thought to bring my fan with me.'

The singing had ended, letting Rin's ears have a chance to recover. "Merlin, do you not know any songs for us to enjoy?"

"You mean destroy, my lord." Rin eyed the trio that was sitting across the fire from her. Sango and Merkamou were looking very happy, but Kagome was propped up between them with her head resting on Sango's shoulder. "I think that Kagome-chan has had enough celebration for one night."

"It does look that way, doesn't it?" Sango poked at Kagome, getting the miko's attention. "Kagome-chan, I think it is time for you to go to bed."

"I'm not done singing!"

Sango ignored the protests and wildly waving hands in favor of pulling the miko up and draping the drunken arm across her shoulders. "Off we go, Kagome-chan. We will even stop and say good night to Sesshomaru."

"Oh, good. I like his hair. Do you like his hair, Sango-chan?"

"It is very nice, Kagome-chan. Come on."

"There are some other parts I like even better."

"Please, for the love of Kami, stop now Kagome-chan."

The inebriated miko stumbled away, babbling to Sango as she was dragged towards her mate. Merkamou was watching with the eyes of a child who has had his favorite toy taken away. "Sango-san can certainly handle some sake, but Kagome-sama is a different story."

"I do not know if this one is handling her drinks particularly well, either." Takashi gave Rin a questioning look.

"Watch yourself, hawk. I may not be able to repay you now, but I can find you later. Merkamou-sama would probably even help me."

"That I would, merlin. You should consider finding your own bed. With injuries like that you should be resting." Merkamou moved over to kneel at her side.

"I know." Rin sighed as she looked up at those eyes that she adored. "Is Sango-chan coming back? This kit will need to be taken to Kagome-chan."

"I will take him. Sango-san may need assistance with Kagome-sama, she seemed rather combative." Takashi picked up the sleeping Shippo and moved into the chaos to help the two ningens.

"I cannot go to my tent without Sango-chan's help. Ah-Un is resting and should not carry me. He was hurt when he fell."

"I will carry you."

There was an awkward silence as the two looked at each other. The last time they had spoken had ended very badly, and that argument had been over a similar problem. Rin looked away, staring at the flames again. Merkamou could hear her pulse jump, her body tensing slightly.

"Very well, Merkamou-sama. I do need to return to my tent, and you will have an easier time of it then Sango-chan."

Strong arms lifted her up into the air, holding her close to his chest. Rin wrapped her good arm around his neck, savoring the feel of his hair and feathers against her fingers. There were some good natured jeers as Merkamou made off with Sesshomaru's ward, but the couple did not seem to notice them. He ducked inside of Rin and Sango's tent, not surprised that the exterminator was not there. Merkamou set his burden down as though she was made of glass, trying not to jar her hip or shoulder.

"Rest, merlin."

"Hai, Merkamou. Arigato."

"My pleasure." A taloned finger pushed Rin's hair away from her face, leaving her eyes unobscured.

"I am glad that you are all right. I was worried about you."

"And I am still worried about you. You push yourself so hard."

A small hand, rough from battle, ran across Merkamou's cheek. "And it is still not enough. So many died today. How many could have been saved if I had been able to kill those dragons faster?"

"In that case I should have the same burden. I was there, remember? I was also fighting those dragons. You do not blame me for the lives lost, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Then you should do the same for yourself. If you must blame someone, blame the dragon that sent his sons into battle. Concentrate on the lives you saved today."

"I will try." Rin's fingers traced over the flame shaped streak on Merkamou's cheek. "Was it worth it? Did I help?"

"You know you did, my merlin. My brave, beautiful, dangerous merlin."

Smiling, Rin pulled his head down so that her lips could touch his. It was a soft kiss, over in an instant, but it made all of the difference to Rin. "Arigato, Merkamou."

"Sleep. The battle is over, and now you can rest and recover. There will be another battle on another day that will need your expertise. Sesshomaru-sama will need his bravest fighter at his side."

"Flattery. Out with you before Sango-chan finds you and beats you over the head for your improper behavior."

"I do not wish to face Sango-san in her rage, so I will leave. I will see you tomorrow." Merkamou brushed a kiss on Rin's cheek before ducking back out of the tent.

Her hand went up to her cheek, pressing against the spot where his lips had been. 'I will miss you, my love.'

----

"Oh, no, Sesshomaru-sama. You mated her, now you can deal with her." Sango handed the smiling Kagome off to her mate so that she could return to the celebration.

"This is not my fault. Sango-chan and that trouble maker wouldn't take no for an answer. I said no, but they said yes, and I said no, and they said yes, and then I said yes, and then I think there was singing." Kagome sagged against her mate and gave him a bright smile.

"Singing. Is that what you would call that?" Sesshomaru easily lifted his mate, carrying her to her tent. Inside he found Shippo already set on Kagome's bed, snoring quietly.

"Of course that's what I would call it. What else would I call it?"

"A new and effective form of torture."

The miko was set on unsteady feet while Sesshomaru moved Shippo to the side.

"Now, you see here you pompous jerk . . . " Kagome lost her balance and tipped over, grabbing onto Sesshomaru while he was still off balance from moving Shippo. There was a muffled curse as they both fell over, landing on the bed roll. "Okay, this works too."

"Miko, I will ensure that you are never given access to sake ever again."

"Hush. You haven't slept in days, and you should come to bed with me. You were just as unconscious as me today. And I'm not taking no for an answer."

"I have things that need my attention . . ."

Kagome grabbed onto his arm, and Sesshomaru's world suddenly became unsteady. "What are you doing, miko?"

"Not sure. I was going to try and make you tired, but I don't think you're tired now."

Blinking against the unfamiliar sensation, Sesshomaru tried to steady himself. "No, I do not feel tired. I believe I feel drunk. You should not try to influence anything when you cannot even control yourself."

"It was for your own good."

"Really? Well, I believe that I will sober up when you do." The miko was back in his arms as he made his way carefully across camp. Iron will kept him from stumbling, but his progress was slowed considerably. On the far side of camp was a stream, and it would serve his purpose.

There was a splash and a scream as the miko was dropped into the cold water. Her mate was standing on the bank, chuckling at her. "Feeling sober now, mate?"

"I'm going to kill you!" Kagome sputtered as she crawled back out of the stream. "So help me, I am going to kill you for this!"

With his senses blurred Sesshomaru was not able to dodge like he usually would, and Kagome was able to land a hit on his chest that sent him flying back into the water. "That'll teach you, you bastard!"

The next thing that Kagome knew she was flying through the air again, back into the water. "I do not believe you have sobered up enough yet."

"Argh!" The miko jumped up out of the water to catch him in a headlock. Ineffective, since he just stood there with her hanging from his neck. "Yield, youkai!"

"Never." Sesshomaru fell back into the water, dunking his mate again. Under the water the two scuffled as the inu-youkai broke free of her grip. They both came up and pushed their hair from their faces. The effects of the emotional influence were wearing off, and the inu-youkai's senses were settling back down. "I believe that your influence over me is fading."

"Good, because I'm freezing. What were you thinking? We are both soaked!"

"This is your work, miko. Not mine."

"I'll get you for this."

Lifting her back into his arms, Sesshomaru smirked at her. "I know."

Kagome used his hair to pull him down for a deep kiss. "Let's go back before I get pneumonia or something."

"Hn."

"Maybe you can help me to warm back up."

"You will need to relocate the fox youkai in our tent."

"He won't even notice we moved him."


	53. To the North

A/N: I'm not telling! I'm not telling if Merkamou and Rin get together, or Akira and Isamu, or Rin and Takashi, or anyone else! Why? Because I'm a wench! Now that I have that out of my system. :-) As requested, I present Mizuki's field trip. I actually own most of this chapter, but not the universe it sits in.

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Careful brush strokes formed a mountain capped with snow. Mizuki tipped her head to the side, making a face at the third crooked mountain she had produced in a row. The whole range looked off kilter. Determined to produce a mountain that did not look like it was going to topple over, Mizuki tossed the piece of rice paper aside so she could start over. 'Why is it that fish are so easy, but my mountains never come out?'

Starting again, the pup tried to ignore the voice she could hear coming closer to her. 'Does that female do anything other then complain?'

The object of her disdain marched right in front of her, blocking her view of the mountains. Schooling her expression into nothingness, Mizuki looked up. "Hai?"

"Where is your brother?"

"You have lost my brother, Cho-san?" The battle to not smile was difficult. Mizuki hated Mayu's youngest, and seeing the leopard cub so put out was delightful.

"I know you know where he is. He took off and if I do not find him my mother will be furious."

"Why would I know where he is? I was not told to watch him, that was your duty."

"You always know where that mutt of a brother of yours is."

After a week of rude names Cho's insult hardly registered. Of course she knew where Katsuro was. He was right next to her, burrowed in one of her kimonos. Cho could not track much of anything, and would never scent him while he was surrounded by Mizuki's scent.

"I do suggest you find him, Cho-san. He is the heir of the Western Lands, after all."

"And that is the most ridiculous idea of them all! A pathetic hanyou ruling the west."

"Our father is the greatest of the taiyoukai, and our mother is the miko that purified the Shikon no Tama. I have no shame in my bloodlines."

"Once Katsuro rules, my brother will conquer the west."

"You are dreaming, Cho-san. I have seen your brother defeated by a ningen. How could he stand against the son of Sesshomaru-sama?"

"None will have him for a mate, or you. You will have no family or status. Now tell me where your brother is!"

"You are quite possibly the most boring person I have ever spoken to. An entire week and you have said nothing original in all of that time."

The two young ladies exchanged another glare. Hideaki had hoped that Mizuki and Cho would become friends, but it had been hate at first sight.

----

"_Mother, why do we have hanyous staying here? Shouldn't they be in the servant's quarters?"_

"_Enough, Cho. These are Sesshomaru's pups and they are guests of the family." Katsuro was perfectly content to stay in his new Auntie Mayu's arms, and Mayu showed no signs of putting him down anytime soon._

"_As long as I do not have to deal with them."_

"_Of course you will spend time with them. Katsuro-chan is the next Lord of the West, aren't you, you sweet little thing, and your father was hoping that you and Mizuki-san could become friends."_

"_Like I would ever become friends with a disgusting mutt. She has not said a word since she got here. Is she too stupid to talk?"_

"_Unlike some, I only speak when I have something useful to add to a conversation." Mizuki thoroughly enjoyed watching Cho change colors._

"_Mother!"_

----

Mizuki had found the change from her own household to Hideaki's fortress to be mind blowing. Gone was the steady support of her father, the open arms of her mother, and the games and lessons with her sister. Now she had only Katsuro for companionship while the rest of the palace avoided her as though she might be contagious. Mayu was friendly enough, but busy while her mate was away.

In her own home the guards and servants knew her and were used to her. There were no sneers or whispered comments. In her own home she was a hime, but here she was a half-breed. Outcast. There was no Kumo to guide her when she needed help with her hair, but instead there was a silent servant that would set her hair and quickly leave. Haoris and hakamas were out of the question, and Mizuki found herself dressed in fine kimonos each day.

There was no chaos here. Now Mizuki understood some of Merkamou's comments about Sesshomaru's home being so exciting, though it had seemed so quiet to the pup. Mayu never raised her voice, and certainly never sent anyone through a wall. None of the family seemed to take any kind of weapons lessons, but seemed content to follow peaceful pursuits. Standing in the immaculate garden, Mizuki could not see herself stealing a dragon and frightening the servants here.

There was a daily routine for her, set up to match Cho's. After a morning meal they would spend half of the day with tutors. Mizuki was disgruntled when her reading turned out to be mostly philosophical. Her tutor had turned a deaf ear to her request for tactical works.

But with Sesshomaru and Kagome for parents Mizuki was stubborn enough for an entire taiyoukai family. A few careful questions had revealed where Hideaki's library was. After the household had gone to sleep she had slipped out of her room and raided the library, pulling a selection of books to keep her occupied on the long, lonely nights.

Mizuki's tutors were equally deaf to her protests over classes on flower arranging. In a moment of frustration she had melted a vase of flowers down into a puddle of murky goo with her poison. A similar incident had occurred at her koto lesson, but she refrained from melting the beautiful instrument. She destroyed the music instead. She was excused from further lessons after that.

The one class she discovered that was truly enjoyable was painting. As long as she looked busy at an appropriate activity the tutors would usually leave her alone.

In the afternoon Mizuki would usually go out to the gardens with her brother for some peace. He had started crawling, and could manage a good burst of speed when motivated. Alone with her brother Mizuki could smile and laugh, leaving the nasty stares and insults back at the palace.

After an evening meal Mizuki would retreat to her room to read and plot. She had read some books that she had never seen before and now had some new ideas for tactics to use on her father. Katsuro slept in her room, curled up beside her. Mayu had attempted to set him up in a nursery, but the pup had howled until he was returned to his sister.

Through all of this had been Cho's insults. The comments were easy enough to ignore, but the pranks were not. One night Mizuki found that water had been poured under her blankets. One morning every paintbrush was gone from her painting supplies. Cho was constantly trying to trip her or push her, but these were things Mizuki could avoid.

Every day Mizuki looked for a messenger that would call her home.

----

Fists slammed against the little table Mizuki was using, knocking her water over. Her latest attempt was soaked, the paint running into blurs. A soft growl escaped the pup as she saw the damage.

"Tell me where he is or I'll make you really sorry."

The loud noises woke up Katsuro. "Ki?"

Cho's eyes narrowed as she marched around the table to stare at the mysteriously moving kimono. "He is here?"

"I never said he was not." Mizuki uncovered her brother who was smiling at her.

"Ki!"

"He has been here the whole time. So help me, I will make you pay for this."

Looking bored, Mizuki started to clear the mess away. "Hai, hai, Cho-san."

"Come here, you brat." Cho snatched up Katsuro, who promptly growled at her. "Shut up, mutt."

Katsuro's puppy teeth were all in, and he put them to good use on Cho's arm.

"Ow!" Cho dropped the pup, who was caught by his ever vigilant sister. "When I get through with you. . . "

"You will not touch my brother."

"And who's going to stop me? A little half-breed like you?" Cho gave Mizuki a hard shove.

Standing her ground, Mizuki set Katsuro down. She shrugged out of an unbound kimono and set it on him. "If need be."

Cho took a step towards Katsuro, which Mizuki promptly blocked. "Get out of my way, half-breed!" Slamming into her opponent, Cho tried to shove her way to Katsuro.

"That is IT!" Mizuki grabbed Cho and knocked them both to the ground. It was all Mizuki could do to not poison her opponent, but she did not want Cho dead. Not really. That would get her into a lot of trouble with Mama.

But father might be proud . . .

Cho grabbed onto a hunk of the silver hair and pulled as hard as she could while Mizuki tried to pin her opponent down. The beautiful kimonos were ground into the dirt as Cho kicked her way free. She was half way to her feet when the pup tackled her from behind, shoving her face into the grass. One arm was trapped behind the cub's back, and Mizuki was pulling it.

"Yield!"

"Mother!" Cho was squirming as she tried to escape.

"Yield!"

----

Mayu's work was interrupted by the one call that no mother can ignore.

"Mother!"

'Cho?' Following the sound, she opened a window to reveal the gardens and the two young noble ladies. Mizuki had Cho pinned to the ground and her arm in a lock.

"Yield!"

"Help me, mother!"

"She cannot help you now."

'Well, this was unexpected. I wonder what Cho did to bring out the Sesshomaru in the pup?'

"I'm not going to yield to a . . . ow!"

Mayu settled down to watch. 'This could be interesting.'

"Do you wish to stay like this all day? You cannot win, you cannot retreat, you must surrender or die. Which do you wish to do?" Mizuki had a small, feral smile as she pushed Cho's face into the dirt.

"You cannot kill me."

"Truly?"

"MOTHER! Mizuki is going to kill me!"

Snorting with laughter, Mayu vaulted out the window to break the girls up before there were any serious injuries. "Mizuki-san!"

For an instant Mayu met dark sapphire eyes as a low growl rolled out of the pup. With her daughter pinned down, the pup looked like a dog when someone tried to take its kill away. And she did not look interested in letting her kill get away.

"Mizuki-san."

The eyelashes fluttered, then Mizuki released Cho and moved away. To see the obedient child now, one would never suspect the beast that she had shown mere seconds before. "Hai, Mayu-sama."

"Mother, did you see what . . ."

"Silence. I saw. You must have done something awful to Mizuki-san for her to attack you. And you, Mizuki-san. Such behavior is completely unfit for a daughter of your house. Both of you, back up to the fortress. You will each write the kanji for peace two hundred times."

"Hai, Mayu-sama." Mizuki bowed low and walked away.

"She attacked me, why do I have to be punished?" Cho's kimono was filthy and ripped, while her hair was a tangled nightmare.

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing. She thought I was going to hurt Katsuro."

A tiny growl announced Katsuro's presence, and his displeasure with Cho. Mayu swooped down on him, pulling the kimono away to reveal bright, cheerful eyes. "Ti!"

"That's right, Katsuro. Auntie." Delighted giggles made Mayu's eyes smile as she lifted the pup. "Did that mean old Cho scare you?"

"Great. Take the hanyou's side and not your own daughter."

"Never, ever threaten an infant, Cho. Not a youkai, a hanyou, or a ningen. You should not fight with Mizuki, either. She is eight, Cho! Littles are to be protected and cared for, no matter who their parents are."

"But Mizuki . . . "

"Enough, Cho. I am very upset with you right now, threatening Katsuro in front of his sister. Go to the fortress. Now."

----

"This is all your fault."

Cho and Mizuki sat at opposite ends of a table, writing their lines. The pup raised one eyebrow at the other girl, an expression she had learned at her father's knee.

Frustrated beyond reason, Cho stuck her tongue out at Mizuki.

Glancing around, the pup saw no one. She pulled her lower eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at Cho. "Be-dah."

The first girl used her hands to push her face in and made fish lips.

Mizuki responded by using her fingers to pull her cheeks out, sticking her tongue out, and crossing her eyes.

"Mayu-sama, Mizuki and Cho are making faces at each other!" Feet ran down the hall.

"Goro." Cho glared out the door as her cousin ran to tell Mayu what the girls had been doing. "Mizuki, how many do you have left?"

"Ten."

"I have eleven. When we are done . . . "

"The traitor pays."

----

"What do you want to do to him?" Mizuki watched Goro from the safety of a tree. Cho was perched beside her, watching their prey.

"I'm not sure. Something nasty. Mother made us write concentration fifty times when he told on us."

"We could just hurt him."

"With what?"

A small dagger appeared from Mizuki's obi. "My aim is not as good as my sister's, but I could probably hit him. He is a taiyoukai, so he would heal in a day at most."

"Where did you get that? You will be in so much trouble if mother finds out."

"This was a gift from my sister. You do not carry a dagger?" Seeing Cho's firm head shake, Mizuki slipped her dagger back into its hiding place. "Strange. I will keep it hidden then. We should probably think of something other then injury."

"Let's get him really dirty."

"There is a story I was told of when my father was a pup. He dumped kitchen waste on some cat-youkai."

"I like it!"

"Then we need to go to the kitchens and arrange a surprise for our friend."

----

The trap was set. Cho was in a tree playing look out, while Mizuki was on the roof of the wing where Goro lived. There was a bucket of scraps and guts balanced on the edge of the roof with a rope running to Mizuki's hiding place. When Cho gave the signal, Mizuki would dump the bucket on the unsuspecting Goro.

The prey was coming home for the evening, along with two of his friends. Cho considered this to be an added bonus. 'Three brats for the price of one.' She raised her hand to let Mizuki know to get ready. As the three boys paused to slide the door open she dropped her hand. The pup pulled her rope, and the guts fell onto the three males underneath it.

"Gross!"

Cho giggled at their yells, enjoying the sight of her cousin and his friends covered in stinking slime. One of the youkai lifted his head, honing in on her. 'Damn foxes and their hearing.'

"I hear giggling coming from that tree." The fox pointed over to where Cho was hidden.

"Let's get her!" Goro led the charge towards the tree.

"Mizuki!" Cho scrambled to the trunk of the tree, watching as the males started to climb up.

"Cho!" There was a streak of silver as Mizuki jumped from the roof to rescue her ally. She jumped up to cling on one of the bigger males and bit him on the arm. With a yell the male let go of the tree and dropped to the ground. "Come on, Cho! Get down from there!"

"Eek!" Cho dropped from her branch, landing in a clumsy heap. Mizuki pulled her to her feet and pushed her away from the approaching males. "What do we do, Mizuki?"

"Strategic retreat."

"Nani?"

"Run!" Mizuki gave Cho a shove and they took off across the grass with the three males in hot pursuit. They wove through the gardens, jumping over and through flower beds as they tried to lose their pursuers. The males were bigger, and faster, but the girls had desperation on their side. And a quick thinking hanyou.

"Through the window, quick!" Mizuki jumped up to slide open a window on the bath house. "They would not dare follow us in here, this is the time when the ladies use the baths."

The two girls climbed through the window, with Cho's kimono whipping out of reach just as the males came to a stop under the window. "We'll wait for you! You can't stay in there forever!"

Mizuki's face appeared in the window. She stuck her tongue out at the boys. "Baka!"

The window slammed shut.

Inside of the bath house the two young ladies found themselves the center of attention. "Cho, Mizuki, what are you two doing?"

"Oh, good evening, mother." Cho bowed as she squirmed.

'I should have thought of this part.' Mizuki bowed low. "A good evening to you, Mayu-sama."

"You have not answered my question." Mayu was caught between amusement and exasperation. 'At least they seem to be getting along better.'

"Ki!" Katsuro was enjoying his bath with Auntie, and was doubly delighted to see his sister.

"We were being chased by Goro and two of his companions. We were seeking refuge." Mizuki looked as calm as though she was discussing the weather.

"And you two did nothing to start this, of course."

"Of course not, mother." Cho giggled as she wiped her palms on her kimono.

"Mizuki-san?"

"Our behavior may not have been totally appropriate."

Mayu nodded. "Both of you will write the kanji for forethought two hundred times. If you are going to exact revenge, do not get caught!"

Twin groans came from the two girls. "Hai."

"But since you are trapped here by your pursuers, perhaps you will join me for a bath. I can send the servants for more towels and robes. I doubt Goro and his friends will bother you if I walk you back. After that it will be up to you two to deal with them."

"Arigato, mother." "Arigato, Mayu-sama."

----

"Well, my calligraphy will certainly improve at this rate." Mizuki wrote 'karma' yet again.

"We just need to quit getting caught! I was quite happy with my calligraphy as it was." Cho was diligently writing her lines as well. The latest spat between Goro and the girls had ended with the male in the koi pond and Mizuki's kimono ripped in several places from falling out of a tree. Cho had still managed to steal his practice blade and hide it, and the very unhappy male was still looking for it. It was revenge for Cho's favorite fan, which Goro had snatched while she was practicing her koto.

"Goro should just accept the trade. He will never find his blade on his own." Stretching her sore arm, Mizuki glanced over at her ally. The past week had been much more enjoyable, and much more natural for the pup. The peace had been shattered, and she had even had a chance to meet the healer. Mayu was groaning about the madness, but Mizuki could not be happier. Now she was checking doors before she walked through them and watching for traps. Now her life felt normal again.

"I know. Sooner or later he is going to come crawling back. It will be so wonderful to see." Cho set her brush down so she could clasp her hands together. "Please, Cho-sama, may I have my pathetic wood sword back? I have brought your fan for you, as you commanded."

"I doubt that he will say it that way."

"I can hope."

Giggles broke out as they worked through their lines.

"How many do you have left, Mizuki?"

"Fifty-two. You?"

"Fourty-six."

"What do you want to do when we are done?"

Cho tipped her head to the side as she thought. "Until Goro comes to beg for his sword I think we should leave him alone. Maybe we could finish that game of Mahjong, assuming the servants have not put it away."

"Great idea."

There was silence as they pushed to finish their lines so they could go play. Mayu's footsteps echoed down the hall, giving them plenty of warning that she was coming.

"Mizuki-san, I have word from the battle."

"Hai?"

"The battle is over, and our families were victorious. Your parents are calling you home."


	54. Good Bye

A/N: It's a little bit short, but that's how it goes with transitional chapters. And there is citrusy content. Really citrusy. If you don't like that kind of stuff, skip the middle. I hope I don't get in trouble. Just to be warned. Tried to not get too fluffy, but what are you going to do. Everybody, say it together now, I own nothing!

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The last of the tents were down, the last of the dead had been buried, and the armies were marching out. A large unit would stay on the border until things had settled in the East, but the rest were going home. Rin, Kagome, and Sango watched from a rise as the forces marched away.

"Now we get to go home. I get to see my pups!" Kagome hugged herself at the thought. "Can't we just go?"

Sesshomaru gave her a look, and there was no denying the surge of exasperation.

"Well, Sesshomaru-sama, it was not the trip that we had originally planned, but it was good to see you again." Hideaki smiled at the group on the rise. "The best of luck with your heir, and thank you for the time spent on my own son."

"It was wonderful to meet you Hideaki-sama. Isamu, I think I will actually miss you." Kagome cocked her head to the side and gave the cub a look that was equal parts teasing and curious. "What kind of havoc are you planning once you return to the North?"

"Actually, Kagome-sama, I am staying here to help Akira-sama secure her position." Isamu kept his eyes on the horizon, not quite meeting the miko's eyes.

'He's blushing!' "I'm sure Akira will be grateful for the help."

"Who are you to ask about havoc when your own court seems to be a great fount of chaos?" Merkamou was smiling, but his body was tense.

"Only when you come out to visit. And I will miss you most of all." Impulsive to a fault, Kagome gave her friend a tight hug, shocking all of the taiyoukai. A quick barrier kept her own mate's instincts in check. "Come and visit again soon."

"Anytime you wish for my presence, Kagome-sama, you merely need to ask." The gold eyes flicked to the two exterminators. "Sango-san, it was an honor."

"The honor was all mine, Merkamou-sama."

Meeting the merlin's eyes took more strength then any other battle he had ever fought. "Merlin . . ."

Rin felt her face heat up, images flashing by. "I will write as soon as we make it home."

"Arigato." The hawk retreated, moving to say his good byes to Hideaki.

"Akira-sama." Kagome bowed to the silent dragon that looked decidedly out of place. "Feel free to visit. I loved getting to know you."

"Arigato, Kagome-sama. For everything."

She desperately wanted to hug Akira as well, but Kagome restrained herself.

The taiyoukai were parting ways, each moving towards their own lands. Isamu was escorting Akira back to the East, making Kagome giggle. "Hey Rin, want to bet on how long until those two are mated?"

"Nonsense." Rin looked after the couple. "Akira may use him, but she will not mate someone that young."

"Hideaki would not mind." Sango gestured after the snow leopard that was heading North.

"I think Akira is going to take him as a mate. What do you think, Sesshomaru?"

The inu-youkai looked very bored with the whole thing, but his mind was whirling. 'The East allied to the North. Not an ideal situation. I have a treaty for two hundred years with Akira, but it will take most of that for her to rebuild. After that . . . "

The miko was tapping her foot. "You know I hate it when you ignore me."

"We are leaving."

Grumbling about arrogant bastards and why anyone would want one as a mate, Kagome climbed onto Kirara behind Sango and started after him. Rin was still on the rise, sitting on Ah-Un and staring at something. Sango stopped Kirara as they turned back to her. "Rin-chan?"

----

Merkamou could see Rin on the rise, sitting on Ah-Un with her kimono blowing about her. Her eyes were locked on him. He watched her, half hoping and half fearing that she would dive that dragon down to him. 'Good bye, my merlin.'

----

"Rin-chan?"

The warrior turned to see her friends waiting for her. She turned to look at the hawk again, the image of rushing down to him playing in her mind.

"Rin-chan, it's time to go home."

Rin's head drooped as she loosened her grip on the dragon. "Hai, Kagome-chan."

With a final glance Rin tried to burn the image of him standing there into her memory, his hair blowing in the wind and staring up at her. Ah-Un turned to follow Kirara, carrying her away as memories from the previous night assailed her.

----

"_Sesshomaru-sama says that we are leaving tomorrow. I think Hideaki-sama will be doing the same."_

_Rin and Merkamou sat on the cliff that Kagome had used as her perch. Ah-Un was below them, happily grazing and waiting for his rider to finish whatever mission she was on. The plan had been to just let Ah-Un have a little flight, now that he was healed, but Merkamou had spooked him and sent them whipping across the sky. Now they were enjoying the sunset before returning to the chaos of camp._

"_I will leave either tomorrow or the next day. I am not in as much of a hurry to return to my home as Sesshomaru-sama is. He has pups that are waiting for him." The usual cheerful expression was nowhere to be found as he watch the sun turn blood red. 'How long until I see you again? Another ten years? I will be mated, and probably have a chick of my own. And what will become of you?'_

"_I am looking forward to seeing Mizuki and Katsuro again. I hope Mizuki is behaving herself."_

"_She is almost certainly behaving as perfectly as always."_

"_That is what I am afraid of."_

_Rin's eyes trailed over the red hair next to her. On impulse she captured a handful and proceeded to start slowly braiding._

"_Merlin, what are you doing?"_

"_You have such beautiful hair. I have some flowers in my garden that would look fabulous with this shade of red."_

"_Nani?" The Lord of the South turned anxious eyes on her. "You are not serious."_

"_Hold still or I will start pulling."_

"_Now, there is no need to do something rash. I like my hair attached to my head."_

_Surrendering, Merkamou allowed Rin to start braiding his hair. It was slow going with her injured arm, but she managed. She was humming as she worked, and the hawk found it to be quite soothing. Battle, politics, and intrigue seemed a million miles away as they watched the sunset and Rin braided his hair._

"_I wonder what I would look like with red hair." Rin put a hunk of his hair on top of her head. "What do you think?"_

"_I think red is more my color."_

_Rin narrowed her eyes and gave the hair a yank. _

"_Ow, hey! Stop that!" Merkamou grabbed her wrist so she would stop pulling. With Rin's other arm still in a sling she had no counter. "Well, merlin? How do you intend to get out of this one?"_

_She kissed him. After a moment of shock, Merkamou willingly let her go in favor of wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. The almost desperate feeling left Rin gasping for air. "Stay with me a little longer, Merkamou."_

"_As you command."_

_He was once again hungrily devouring her, his hands running over her kimono. While she was running her fingertips over his ears his hands had found her sash. One hand tugged while the other caught her katanas. Rin gasped, not sure if it was because he was pulling at her clothes or removing her katanas. "What are you doing?"_

"_I can control myself. I just wish to see you."_

_Shivering, Rin felt her body respond to that husky voice. Her kimono was pushed off of one shoulder, but was caught up in her sling. Merkamou clicked his teeth once with annoyance, making Rin give a shaky laugh. "So long as we do not get into a fist fight I can take off the sling."_

"_I have no intention of fighting you tonight." With the sling out of the way it was simple to push her kimono to the ground. She was now dressed in her hakama and inner kimono. His fingers slid over the thin silk, feeling the heat from her body. With her good arm Rin was tugging at his own sash, trying to pull it away._

_Chuckling, Merkamou assisted her. His own clothing was pushed off of his shoulders, leaving his chest bare to the last rays of the sun. Rin's breath hissed through her teeth at the sight, tentative fingers trailing over his skin. The feather soft touch sent Merkamou's heart rate through the ceiling, his body aching for her._

_Careful, trying not to spook her, Merkamou tugged at Rin's inner kimono. The dark eyes were locked on his, fear and confusion taking turns at dominance. "I will not hurt you, merlin. You will leave tonight still a maiden."_

"_I trust you, Merkamou."_

_The white silk fluttered to the ground, revealing Rin's upper body to him. She crossed one arm across her front, and the other rested on her bandaged shoulder. She turned her head away, her eyes closed._

"_Look at me."_

_The dark eyes returned to the gold ones. "You are so perfect. How can you stand to see these?" Rin's fingers played over the scars across her side, the mark from the taiyoukai that had started this war._

_Firm fingers pulled her arm away. "You are the most frustrating creature I know."_

"_Hey!"_

"_When will you ever figure out that you are perfect? Those are from battle, a battle you won. As are the rest of them." Dipping his head down, the hawk kissed the scar running across her collarbone. He felt the body in front of him quiver, but the hands were on him now instead of trying to hide herself._

_Rin let her eyes slide shut, savoring the feeling of his mouth on her. A gentle finger brushed against her breast, making her jump. A strong hand on her back steadied her as the finger brushed against her again, making goose bumps stand up all over her body. Her head fell back as her breath came in gasps. She tangled her hands in his hair, hanging on for dear life as that mouth lowered until it found the peak of her breast. A soft moan left her throat, a sound that she did not even recognize as her own. His tongue flicked over her, and her body shook again._

_Taloned fingers trailed down her waist, finding the ties to her hakama. Rin slapped one hand over the roving fingers, stopping them. The gold eyes locked onto hers again. She was visibly fighting with herself. He was not supposed to, no one but her husband or mate was supposed to. But it felt so right!_

"_Trust me."_

_Nodding, she moved her hand away. She closed her eyes as she heard the ties come undone in a hiss of silk. The garment dropped off of her hips, with his hands trailing down her hips after it. Rin leaned forward to rest her forehead on his shoulder as she fought with herself. She still did not understand what was going on, but she did not want to stop. 'Tomorrow I leave. Will I ever see him again? I will regret it for the rest of my life if I leave now. No one wants me, why am I so concerned about saving myself for a male that does not exist? He is here, and I love him. Tonight he is mine.'_

_Her skin felt like the purest silk as he trailed over her hips. His own breathing was ragged as he saw her beauty, the trained body of a fighter with the face and heart of an angel. His mouth found hers again as he pulled her against him. Her bare breasts pressed against his chest, spreading heat through his body. He pressed against her, guiding her back to rest on her kimonos that had been discarded. Her hands trailed over his back as he continued to kiss her, reveling in the feel of her beneath him._

_A hand was trailing up Rin's thigh, and she was suspicious of its goal. She was afraid, but she would not let it show. Tonight she was his, and he could do as he wished. Strong fingers brushed across the apex of her thighs, pulling a moan from her. She did not know what she wanted, but she was certain that Merkamou could give it to her._

_Clenching his teeth, Merkamou forced his body to obey him. He shifted so that he could have full access to her. His fingers were teasing across her, stroking her in an age old rhythm. The once confused eyes were now shut as she threw her head back, her hips moving to match him. As his merlin reached her peak he held her tightly. Her body relaxed against him, the dark eyes looking drugged as they focused on his._

"_Sugoi."_

"_Arigato."_

_Rin nuzzled against his cheek, feeling relaxed and content. "Now I am starting to see what all of the fuss is about."_

_Laughter exploded out of Merkamou. "Hai, that is what all of the fuss is about."_

"_Can I do the same to you?"_

_Choking, the laughter came to a quick stop. That innocent little question had almost pushed his body beyond his control. "It is possible, but not what I intended."_

"_But what if I want to?"_

'_Oh, Kami, save me from this innocent female. She will be my undoing.' "I know that I could never win a fight with you."_

_Pushing him off of her, Rin gave him a determined look. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she wanted the hawk to have that same moment that she had just experienced. He was now kneeling in front of her, dressed in only his hakama. Sitting on her own knees, Rin trailed her hands over his chest again. Merkamou had his hands on the ground, and unbeknownst to Rin had his talons dug into the rock as he tried to control himself._

_Those innocent little hands were trailing down his waist, skimming over the silk. A tentative finger trailed over his length, a sharp intake of breath giving away Rin's surprise. The hawk concentrated on his breathing. _

_The touch was becoming bolder. Now the whole hand was running over the hard length hidden inside of the silk. Rin could see his reactions, the hitch in his breathing and the quiver of muscles. She must be doing something right. Her curiosity was getting the best of her. She tugged at the ties of his hakama, pushing the garment past his hips._

_The talons dug deeper into the rock, creating deep furrows as Merkamou forced himself to remain still. A soft, feather touch was on him, and it was almost more than he could bear. She was sliding over the length of him, reveling in the way his body was reacting. There were low moans now as she encircled him with her hand, sliding over him. _

"_Merlin." Rin could see his body tensing, and she knew that he was in the same state she had been in. She knelt beside him, running her hand over him as she caught his mouth in a kiss. His cry of release was lost in her embrace. She felt his body jerk, his mouth crushing hers, then he was relaxing. He broke away to rest his forehead against hers. The talons were pulled from the ground, leaving behind deep gashes. _

_Rin sagged against his chest, enjoying the feel of his arm around her waist. He tumbled them both onto the abandoned kimonos, letting her settle against his chest. Her breathing evened out as she dozed off. He pulled his haori over to cover them against the chilly night air that was rolling in._

'_I know she cannot stay like this, but I will let her be. For a few hours.'_

----

'And I woke up in my own tent, fully dressed, with Sango shaking me and telling me that it was time to go. I would have thought it was a dream, but there was a single red feather next to me.' Ah-Un easily caught up with Kirara. Rin and Sango were each looking at her sympathetically, making Rin blush and duck her head. "What are you two staring at?"

"Why can't you have your happy ending? Why did you have to say good bye today?" Kagome looked like she was ready to cry herself.

"Kagome-chan, this is not one of the fairy tales you told me when I was little. He has a duty, and I am not a part of it. I am only worried because I am getting so old. Very few would consider me now."

'And in this age, she is old.' Kagome shook her head. 'I can't get my head around the idea of being too old to marry at 19. Or so. We never did figure out how old she was.'

"We will find you someone, Rin-chan. You were one of the heroes of this battle. There should be some new interest."

Rin was tired of this argument. "Of course, Sango-chan."

"Either way, it is time that we went home. Kagome-chan's pups will be so happy to see her, and my own little ones are waiting for me. And my hentai. I can't believe you told Akira that."

"She what?" Kagome whipped around to stare at Rin.

"She told Akira I was married to a hentai. I did not hear the end of it." Sango tossed a glare over her shoulder.

"Rin-chan, not nice!"

"I know, Kagome-chan. But it is true."

"Rin-chan!"

----

"You better write me, Mizuki, or I'm going to come out there and tell your parents about last night."

"Only if you write me first and tell me how Goro reacts when he finds out what we wrote on his forehead." Mizuki smiled at her friend.

"We'll see how my arm feels after mother finds out." Cho rolled her eyes.

"No excuses, or I will come back to interrogate you."

"You wench. You are going to be long gone when mother finds out, so I'm the only one being punished, and I have to write you right away?"

"Hai."

"Fine. But I will remember this."

"Mizuki-san, we are ready to go." Mayu was dressed in armor and carrying her precious Katsuro-chan.

"A final present for you, Cho." Mizuki pulled a fan from her obi and handed it to the other girl.

"My fan! How did you get it back?"

"Do not ask. I will see you again, Cho."

"You better. Now go before you make mother even more annoyed."

The two ladies bowed to each other, then parted ways. Cho returned to the fortress while Mizuki joined Mayu and her guards.

"Let's get you two home." Mayu gestured towards the gates, sending the guards on their way. Excitement caught up with Mizuki, pushing some of her sadness away.

'Home!'


	55. An Offer

A/N: I know, I know, but I have a good excuse. I got sick. Like, emergency room hooked up to an IV sick. Good news is that I am back and feeling much better. Bad news? I have no more prewritten chapters. Now you guys are getting chapters as I write them. I average a chapter every other day, so my posts will slow down a bit, but not too bad. Thanks for sticking with me! This is even bigger then the last one. I know I'm winding things up, but I'm not sure how long it's going to take. And now that I am writing as I go, you can really poke at me to change the plot! No guarantee that I will listen, but go ahead and poke. It amuses me. :-) What do I own? Nothing!

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'Who would have thought I would ever consider this to be home? If someone would have suggested it, or that I would fall in love with _him_, I would have run away from the lunatic.' Kagome was smiling at the sight of the gates to Sesshomaru's palace. 'Life never comes out the way you planned.'

The gates swung open as the group approached, guards cheering at the sight of their Lord returning from a victorious battle. Kagome and Rin were included in the yelling, making both of them blush. Every member of the household was coming out to greet them.

As soon as she crossed into the familiar courtyard Kagome was looking for Kumo. She had felt out of sorts without her steady assistant, and she was eager to hear if there was any word on her pups. Her eager eyes found the youkai standing in the entrance to the palace, calmly watching over the excitement. Her eyes were sweeping the group, looking for someone.

When Kumo darted down the stairs and started to push her way through the crowd everyone got out of the way. Kumo never ran, unless she was chasing her lady. At first Kagome thought she was running towards her, but she was aiming for farther back in the group.

"Kenshin!"

"Kenshin?" Kagome looked to Rin for explanation. She did not get any help, since the younger woman was giving her a look that said very clearly 'You do not know who Kenshin is?'

The answer came when Kumo found her Kenshin and ran into his arms, burying her face in his chest. The guards gave their Captain a thorough razzing, which he ignored in favor of holding Kumo.

"You did not know that the Captain's name was Kenshin? Or that he and Kumo have been spending considerable time together?" Rin looked scandalized.

"Of course they spend time together, they plot against me! But I didn't know, I mean, neither of them ever did anything like that! And, for your information, that stubborn old dog would not tell me his name. He was afraid I'd give him a pet name."

"Probably a legitimate fear. Kumo's first mate was killed in war, so she was very nervous about the Captain leaving."

"How do you know all of this?"

"Jaken-sama."

"And how . . . never mind. I don't want to know how that toad knows so much."

Kagome slipped off of Ah-Un, wobbling a bit. Kirara was a much more comfortable ride, but they had dropped Sango off at her home. The sight of Mirokou spinning his wife around still made the miko smile. The four children had piled onto their mother as soon as Mirokou put her down, knocking her over. Kagome and Rin had slipped away, leaving Sango on the bottom of a happy, giggling pile of family.

'This could get awkward. I am not supposed to walk yet, and Ah-Un cannot carry me into the palace. I hate being injured!' Rin looked around with somewhat frantic eyes. She did not care for the idea of a stranger carrying her, but she may not have a choice. Kagome was too little, Merkamou was in his own lands, and the Captain already had his arms full.

Strong arms scooped her up as though she weighed nothing. Rin bit back a squeak as Sesshomaru carried her into the palace, Kagome trotting along behind them. Somehow he always made her feel like she was five again. Habit made her relax, feeling safer then anywhere else in the world. Sesshomaru would never let anything happen to her.

Sesshomaru set her on her bed, the same one she had been sleeping in for fourteen years. "Rest."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama."

He was gone before Rin could blink, leaving her with Kagome.

"If anyone ever saw him with you or Mizuki his reputation would be ruined."

"Nonsense, everyone knows how protective his is of his pack." Rin gave her sling an impatient tug as it caught in her hair. "Is Nori back yet? I am going insane like this!"

"Not yet. He had some work to do at the border still. You're staying off your feet until he gets back."

"I am already bored."

"You could study, you know."

"Ugh." Rin dropped back on her bead. "I will need to be much more bored before I do that."

"Mizuki will be back soon, and she can keep you company. I'm going to try and find some books to keep you sane."

Rin growled at the ceiling after Kagome left. "So we meet again. I am going to get very bored of looking at you."

Her paper and brushes were within reach, so she pulled them over. She had promised to write as soon as she got home.

_Merkamou,_

_As you can guess, we have made it home without incident. I have been ordered off of my feet by Kagome-chan until the healer can get back. Very cruel. It is true that my hip will not support me for long, since it does hurt quite a bit, but I can handle a little walking. She is so very protective._

_Kagome-chan also found out about Kumo and the Captain. She was quite surprised. I was even more surprised that Jaken-sama was right about something. We left Sango-chan at her home. I miss her already, but her family needs her. She has been gone so much._

_As soon as I can I need to go out and check my flowers. Some of the lilies survived that dragon, and I need to see if they are blooming yet. I hope so. If they are healthy I can use them to start rebuilding the whole bed._

_My nightmares have been getting better._

_I will write to you again soon. I am stuck indoors, there is not much else to do. Hopefully my boredom will not cause you to be equally bored._

_Your Merlin_

Rin read and reread her note. She wanted to be friendly, but not too friendly. You never know who was going to find a note. She almost scratched out the nightmares comment, but she knew that the hawk was worried about those. If she said nothing he would worry even more. The only night she had not had those dreams was when she had fallen asleep with him. After . . .

A tremor went through her body at the remembered passion. 'So that is what all of the fuss is about. And now I can see fussing about it. But I cannot imagine doing anything like . . .that with anyone else. I do not think I would trust them enough. It was hard enough with Merkamou, and I have known him most of my life. On the other hand, I have lost my interest in remaining unmated now.'

The note was folded up and sealed. She would have to wait for Kagome's return to have a messenger take it. With her benign incarceration she would be writing to her friend quite a bit. Hopefully the messengers would be able to handle the extra work. Youkai messengers were amazing for speed and endurance, allowing a message to reach the Southern Lands in two days. A true emergency could cut the time down even more. But somehow Rin was certain that they would not be amused to carry messages to the Southern Lands every day.

'Perhaps Merkamou's messengers and Sesshomaru-sama's messengers can take turns.'

Kagome returned with a stack of books and scrolls. "I found some defense manuscripts you haven't read, and some tactical stuff you should read because Mizuki is trying to. And this one looks like it could be funny."

"Arigato, Kagome-chan. Can you give this to a messenger?"

"You weren't kidding about writing right away. This may even beat him to his home." Kagome took the note, then hesitated and sat by Rin. "Are you okay, jo-chan?"

"I will be fine, Kagome-chan. Nothing has changed."

"I know. It's just killing me to see you so unhappy."

"It will get better. I will not be seeing him anymore, so it will get easier. It is time to find a partner for me, though. Really, Kagome-chan. Before I am so old that no one will have me."

A heavy sigh deflated the miko. "If that is what you really want, jo-chan, I'll talk to Sesshomaru."

"Arigato, Kagome-chan."

Kagome left, blowing out the lamp as she did. Despite Rin's protests that she was not going to sleep, she was feeling very tired. The great battle, sleeping in a tent, and the emotional strain all caught up with her at once and sent her down into sleep.

----

"Rin-chan."

The warrior looked up from her reading, rather relieved for the interruption. It was very dry reading, and she had been trying to read the same page for most of the morning. After four days of sitting in her room she was ready to climb the walls. She could not see Kagome, but she could hear her down the hall. "Hai, Kagome-chan?"

"I have some surprises for you."

"Surprises?"

"Rin-neechan!" A streak of silver ran in the door and catapulted onto the bed. "Rin-neechan, I have missed you!"

"Mizuki-chan!" Rin grabbed her sister with her good arm and pulled her close. "I have missed you, too. Were you good for Mayu-sama?"

"Well, I did my best." Mizuki ducked her head to hide behind her silver bangs.

"What did you do, pup?"

"According to Mayu-sama, our little Mizuki beat up her youngest daughter. Then the two became allies and beat up on several of the young males at court." Kagome smiled brightly at her daughter as she walked into the room with Katsuro. "Basically, she made herself at home."

"You did not." Rin stared at her sister.

"Oh, yes I did, Rin-neechan. Cho started it, she was threatening Katsuro. Then Goro got us in trouble with Mayu-sama, so we had to do something about him. He was very angry, so he did something back, so we revenged ourselves. It just grew from there." Mizuki did not look at all ashamed now.

"Unbelievable." Rin opened her good arm for Katsuro as Kagome handed him to her. "And how are you, my favorite little brother?"

Katsuro squealed and grabbed onto some of Rin's hair that had escaped.

"Mayu-sama said that Mizuki was like a little Sesshomaru, threatening Cho with death if she did not surrender." Kagome bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Mizuki! That is very rude! What did we say about no fighting?"

"She started it. That is what you used when you fought with Isamu."

Kagome could not hold back her laughter anymore. "She's got you there, Rin-chan."

"Please tell me that Katsuro behaved himself."

"Oh, yes. I was afraid Mayu-sama wasn't going to let go of him. Her little Katsuro-chan. Before I forget, here is your next surprise." She waved in the healer.

"Nori-sama! Please tell me I can get out of bed."

"You are that eager to go and get hurt again? Foolish creature." The healer pulled Rin's sling off so he could get a look at her shoulder. "This looks like it has patched up enough. You can stop wearing the sling, but no heavy work with this arm! I do not want to have to restitch it."

A quick inspection showed that her hip was also healing well. "You can walk about a small amount each day, but no running or fighting of any kind! If this does not heal correctly you will not be able to fight again, so let it have some time."

"Arigato." Rin happily flung her sling across the room. "Good riddance."

"And your last surprise." Kagome nodded to the healer as he let himself out, then went to Rin's side holding out a message. "From Merkamou."

Rin tried to not look too excited. "Arigato, Kagome-chan."

"Mizuki, Katsuro, and I are going to be in my study. Do you think you can walk that far?"

"Of course, Kagome-chan. I will catch up in a few moments."

Kagome retrieved her son and left her friend alone to read. As soon as she was alone Rin broke the seal and unfolded her letter.

_Merlin,_

_I have also returned home without incident. It seems very strange to see my own court without the added chaos of preparations for war. Quite dull, actually. I am trying to adapt to it, but it is difficult. Perhaps I should invite the little miko out to liven things up. I would be most entertained to have her meet some of these nobles who insist on saying ningen as though it were a dirty word. Of course, I would keep a safe distance between myself and her at the time. No sense in unnecessary risk._

_I am assuming that the rest of your family has returned to you by now. Mizuki was probably a perfect little courtier. _

Rin broke down laughing and could not continue to read for several minutes.

_I have no young ones around me now, and I also find this to be disconcerting. I had gotten used to Mizuki and Katsuro. Particularly Katsuro. That pup shows great potential in my eyes. I do think it is time that I had a brood of my own, since I miss Sesshomaru's offspring so much._

_A very interesting conversation was had on the way back from the border. Do you remember Takashi, one of my commanders? He is also a cousin of mine, and I have known him all of his life. He asked about you. He would be interested having you as a mate. I did make a deal with you to find a mate, and since you have upheld your half of the bargain it is time for me to make good on mine. I know I promised a ningen, but would you consider a taiyoukai instead? It is an honorable offer. I expect him to make General in my forces, so he is an excellent match. His branch of the family is not involved in politics much, and since he is a younger son there would be no fall out from taking a ningen. He has a lovely home a day's travel from the palace._

_Take your time and consider the offer. I am certain that Sesshomaru-sama would consider it to be an acceptable match. _

_I was relieved to hear that your nightmares are improving. I only wish for you to be happy._

_Yours,_

_Merkamou_

For a long time Rin did not move. She simply stared at the letter. Several emotions warred for dominance. Jealousy that Merkamou would be raising his brood with someone else, rage that he would just stand by and let someone else have her, relief that someone wanted her, and flattered that Takashi had asked for her. Her body felt overwhelmed with the emotions and trembled. This is the condition Kagome found her in when she came looking for her friend.

"Rin-chan? You didn't come to the study, so I was worried you fell. What's wrong?"

Without a word, Rin held out the letter.

Skimming over the words, Kagome first snorted with laughter then froze. Her eyes whipped back and forth over the paper, rereading it several times. "He's serious."

"Hai."

"I barely remember this Takashi."

"I am not surprised. I talked with him for a long while. A nice temper, and quite attractive. Intelligent and polite. He had long black hair, dark eyes, and a black streak on his cheek."

"I kind of remember him. He seemed really nice. None of my instincts kicked in to say run away or anything." Kagome set the note down to study her friend. "What are you thinking, Rin-chan? You're not actually considering this, are you?"

"Why not?"

"Why not? Are you nuts? You don't even know him! Not really, anyways. You've met him once! How can you go and mate some guy you've only met once?"

"It happens everyday, Kagome-chan. Most of those females do not even get to meet their new mates that one time. He seemed very nice, and it is an excellent match for me. Merkamou would not have suggested it if he thought Takashi would be wrong for me."

"And that hawk. I could strangle him, putting you in this position. I'm half tempted to go to the Southern Lands and tell him that he had better quit his whining and just take you for himself."

"Kagome-chan! Enough! I will not risk the Southern Lands so I can have him for a mate, and that is final!"

Silence echoed through the room as Kagome stared at Rin. "You're serious about this, aren't you?"

"It is the best offer I have had. I could have a life I was happy with there. Takashi knows me as a fighter and will not expect me to be some demure lady. I met him by rescuing him in battle, remember?"

"True."

"Where is Sesshomaru-sama?"

The cobalt eyes slide half closed. "In his study, alone. Wait, no. He's got Jaken with him, but he's ignoring him. Creepy, when he ignores someone that hard it's like they aren't even there."

"We are going."

"Where are we going?"

"To talk to Sesshomaru-sama." Clutching the note, Rin led the way to Sesshomaru's study. Her pace was slow after so much time off of her feet, but she made it there under her own power. She tapped on the frame, waiting for him to recognize her. He already knew that Kagome was there, and had almost certainly scented her, but it was still polite.

"Come. Jaken, out." Sesshomaru did not glance away from the document in front of him as the toad ran into Rin's legs in his haste to escape.

"Watch out, Jaken-sama." Rin hissed to the toad.

"You watch out, rude child." Jaken was gone before Rin could finish the argument.

Sesshomaru looked up at Kagome, staring into her eyes. Rin had the feeling that there was a silent conversation going on, and fidgeted with her sash. The amber eyes swung to her. "Hai?"

Rin and Kagome dropped to the cushions in front of his desk. The miko took the lead for her nervous friend. "Rin-chan got an offer from Takashi of the Southern Lands. And she wants to take it."

"An offer?" Sesshomaru kept his eyes on Rin, even though Kagome was speaking. His ward looked like she was ready to break under the tension in her body. "How did this come about?"

"I met Takashi when I rescued him during battle." Rin kept her eyes on the desk. "I talked to him that night while we were all at the campfire. That was when Merkamou and Kagome and Sango were singing, which is why Kagome-chan does not remember him. He is a commander in Merkamou's army, and he is very nice. Merkamou said that he will make general, and that it would be an excellent match, and . . ."

"Enough."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama."

"Kagome, what are your reservations? This sounds like an acceptable match."

"Acceptable match? She doesn't know him! Just because she got her heart broken she is ready to take anything that comes along!"

Rin gasped as she heard Kagome's slip. The amber eyes narrowed and focused on Kagome. "Heart broken?"

"Oh, well, she had this little crush, and you know how first crushes go. He he he." Kagome put on her best fake smile, knowing that her mate would see right through any lie she could concoct.

"Hn." Sesshomaru's attention swung back to Rin. "And you wish to accept this match?"

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama."

"I will write Merkamou-sama and start discussions on the matter."

"Nani?" Kagome glared at her mate. "She doesn't know him!"

"She wishes for the match, the male is acceptable as far as I know. I will write to Merkamou."

"Fine." Kagome pouted.

"Arigato, Sesshomaru-sama."

"It will not be finalized until you both agree to it. You have the option to change your mind." Sesshomaru's attention was back on his document, but Rin knew who the comment was intended for.

"Understood, Sesshomaru-sama."

Rin tugged Kagome's arm to guide her out. "Can you walk me back to my room, please? I do not want to fall during the walk back and be stuck in a corridor."

"Hai." Making a great show of sulking, Kagome walked back to Rin's room with her. "I don't like it."

"I know you do not, but it is for the best. Truly, it is."

"Merkamou is going to lose it when he sees you with someone else. Has he thought about that?"

"Takashi's home is a day away from the palace, and his family is not involved in politics much. He will not see much of me. And he will have Sora."

"I forgot about her! I completely forgot about Sora. Now that everyone is home I bet Sesshomaru will be doing negotiations for that pair as well. Between your letters and the two matches the messengers will be very busy."

"And I am going to write him back right now. There is no point in delaying, since Sesshomaru-sama is willing to talk to them about it. I would like to have a youngster of my own."

"I feel so old!" Kagome clutched her hand to her heart in a melodramatic fashion. "I can remember you running around in that little yukata with your hair a mess, and now you are going to go off and get a mate of your own and a family. Where did the time go?"

Rin tugged at a tendril that had escaped and was hanging in her eyes. "I have not changed that much, Kagome-chan."

"Very true. Get back into bed, young lady. I'll have dinner in here with you tonight. And then I can tell you a bedtime story."

"I would love that, Kagome-chan." Rin stared at her door long after Kagome had left. The miko was the closest thing she had ever had to a mother, and she adored her. Even when she was being very stubborn about her damn fairy tale endings.

_Merkamou,_

_I will regale you with Mizuki's time in the Northern Court another day. Suffice to say, she was not a perfect courtier. Evidently she is quite a bit like her father, right down to the temper and sense of vengeance. She would probably provide more entertainment for your court then even Kagome-chan if you got her riled up enough. Poor Mayu-sama, I do not think she knew what hit her._

_In regards to Takashi, Sesshomaru-sama will be contacting you to begin negotiations for that partnership. It is a generous offer, and I am flattered that Takashi even remembered me. Please let him know how I feel, and that I remember him quite fondly despite our rather rocky start. Somehow I think I will be able to handle having a taiyoukai instead of a ningen. Taiyoukai are sturdier, and I do have something of a temper at times. I most definitely consider your half of the deal fulfilled. _

_We will need to coordinate messengers. Kagome-chan had a point. Between the two matches and our letters the messengers are going to get very tired. But I will leave that up to you and Sesshomaru-sama. _

_Oh, the healer is letting me walk around now. I have never been so happy to talk to that healer in my life. With Mizuki for company and some walking allowed I will not be nearly so cranky. _

_Thank you for looking out for me. I wish for your happiness every time I see a shooting star._

_Your Merlin_

"Rin-neechan, do you want to see my new strategy to use on father?" Mizuki trotted into the room with an armful of scrolls.

The note was folded and sealed while Rin fought back tears that suddenly threatened to appear. "Hai, Mizuki-chan. Show me how you intend to conquer Japan."

----

"Sesshomaru?"

"Hai?"

"I'm worried."

Sesshomaru tugged Kagome's arm, pulling her down so she was sitting on his lap. They had both been getting ready for bed, but his little miko was more then worried. She seemed almost distraught. "About Rin."

"Of course. I know that arranged marriages and matings happen all of the time, but I'm not from this era. I can't imagine just living with some stranger because someone picked him for you. I want her to be happy."

"Making the choice does not guarantee happiness. I did not choose you, if you remember."

Kagome flinched. "I remember, and it still bothers me sometimes."

"It does not make this any less real just because I did not choose it."

"Are you trying to tell me that Rin could fall in love with this Takashi?"

"Stranger things have happened." Sesshomaru pressed his lips to Kagome's temple. "I do not want Rin to be unhappy either. I was not amused to hear of a broken heart."

"Every girl's heart gets broken at some point."

A small surge of jealousy rippled through Sesshomaru. He knew who Kagome was thinking of. A soft growl rumbled through his chest as he kissed her possessively.

"Easy. That was definitely a part of the past." Kagome's breath was coming in small pants after the intense kiss. "Maybe this could work out. He seemed nice enough, and Rin did enjoy talking to him."

"And that is more then what we started with."

"We talked. It just ended in violence almost every time." Kagome giggled at the memory. "Are you telling me to not worry?"

"No, I am saying not to worry as much as you are. It is not hopeless."

"I suppose. We should have him come out to visit. So we can check him out. See if he is good enough for our Rin."

"Now that is a reasonable suggestion, koishii."

Kagome caught his head and pulled it to hers for another kiss. While he still never said the words, there was no denying that warm feeling that would envelop her at times like this. A warm, cherished, loved feeling that was coming from her inu-youkai. Somehow it was even better then hearing the words. "She told me once that she wanted what we have. That we watch each other's backs."

"Of course."

"And she shouldn't settle for anything less, right?"

"Not my Rin."


	56. To the South

A/N: 30 chapters. Holy cow. And I just love listening to everyone beg and plead. It's so cute. Am I a sadist? Probably. Thank you for all of my well wishers. I am feeling much better, but I can really sympathize with Rin now. My ceiling is so boring! And I have so many new reviewers coming out of the wood work. How is everyone finding this story? I don't care how you got here, I love everyone! And my meds, I love my meds! Hee hee. I own zilcho.

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A single feather was in his eyes again. Merkamou blew it away as he set aside the letter from Rin. 'She agreed. Then why do I feel like I just lost a battle?'

A mix of emotions followed the hawk as he paced through the halls of his palace. Courtiers and servants steered clear when they saw his dark expression. 'I suppose I should tell Takashi. He will be delighted to hear that Rin has accepted his offer. If only he knew what kind of family he was joining.'

There was one creature in the palace that was not frightened away by Merkamou's expression. She marched right up to him and set her hands on her hips. "What is the problem?"

"It is none of your concern, mother." Merkamou stepped around her, but his mother followed right after him.

"A messenger comes from the west and now you are in a dark mood. What has happened? Is there a problem with Sora?"

"No, mother. It was a personal note."

His mother stopped, an assessing look on her face. "Personal? Are you saying that the rumors are true?"

"And what rumors are those, mother?" Merkamou turned to face his mother in the corridor.

"That you have some sort of relationship with Sesshomaru's ward."

'Damn her and her spies.' He gave an elegant shrug. "I have known her for a long time, and she is a talented fighter."

"Do not dare to drag this family's name through the mud over some ningen. I knew I should not have let you spend so much time with that inu-youkai and his pet ningens."

"Let? Mother, I am Lord here. I come and go as I please."

His mother snorted at him. "Lord? You have no control here. You are a pathetic substitute for your brother. Without me you would have never held on to your position."

"There are other ways to rule. I do not need to assassinate any who oppose me like you do."

"You say that because you are weak and allow others to rule you. You are nothing without me. Without my support the nobles would have taken over long ago. You will not contact that ningen again."

Merkamou towered over his mother, glaring at her. "I am Lord here, not you. I do as I please."

"Back away, Merkamou."

"No. You do not control me. As soon as my mate arrives you will not be the Lady here. Your power is drifting away."

The female's eyes were bleeding red. "Nobody will be Lady here but me, and especially not some little fool that Sesshomaru talked you into mating. Our line was cursed the day your brother was killed and you were made Lord."

"I may never be as perfect as my brother was, but I am still Lord. Pack your things." Merkamou turned on his heel to march away.

"What do you mean?"

"Pack your things. You are leaving. I am sending you to the Far Shores palace with guards and servants of my choosing. You will not leave that place until you die."

"You cannot hold me there." The wind picked up in the corridor. "I am the Lady of these lands."

Again, Merkamou moved so that he was directly in front of his mother, challenging her. "You will leave, or I will have you chained and dragged from this palace like a common criminal."

"You would never dare."

"Try me."

The two glared at each other. His mother was the first to break away. "You will regret this, Merkamou. This moment will bring about your downfall."

Merkamou rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, mother." He took her by the arm and delivered her to a pair of guards. "She is to pack and prepare to leave. Do not let her out of your sight, and do not let her speak with anyone."

Leaving his mother to the guards, the hawk took his foul mood outside. The sight of the nobles running for cover was doing nothing for his mood. He rather doubted that a garden would be soothing now, but perhaps he could work off some frustrations with the guards.

A scream ripped across the sky, sending his eyes up to find the source. A gold hawk was diving low, blood on its talons.

'In the future I must assign more than two guards to watch mother.' Merkamou glared as the hawk swung around for another pass. "This is pointless, mother!"

With another scream the gold hawk blasted a building with flame.

"Mother! I will not let you destroy the palace just because you cannot control your temper!" A red hawk rose into the air, flying straight for his mother.

Surprise was plain in the gold hawk's eyes as she blasted at her son. Merkamou climbed away from the attack, then dove down with his talons leading. He slammed into his opponent's back, trying to drive her to the ground. The female twisted and broke away, snapping her beak at his wing. Pulling out of his dive, Merkamou soared after his mother before she could cause any more damage.

With a skill that spoke of many centuries of practice, the gold hawk turned sharply and dove at her son. Merkamou rolled to evade her, but was caught across the wing with her talons. Screaming in rage, the red hawk blasted flames at the second one. The female was singed and pulled away to safety. Her son was right on her tail, closing the distance quickly. He slammed into her back, digging in his talons and bringing her to ground. They landed in a heap with Merkamou mantling over her as though he had just brought down a sparrow.

Talons flexed, drawing more blood as Merkamou fought with his instincts. He wanted to snap her spine, ending her struggles. He hissed at her, inches from her neck, but reason was returning. Slowly, reluctantly, he moved away. There was a flash of flame, then Merkamou stared at the downed hawk from his human eyes.

"You are leaving, mother. Do not challenge me again."

The gold hawk disappeared, replaced by a bleeding female in elegant kimonos. "You should have killed me."

"I may yet, if you do not leave. Now."

A gesture brought a group of the guards that had been playing spectator running to escort the former Lady of the South. Limping, the female went with them without a fight.

'She will be the death of me.'

----

"Your courtiers have begged me to come and talk to you. Did you really attack mother today?" An elegant female let herself into Merkamou's room, ignoring his warning hiss.

"Yes, I did. Now get out, Akane."

"They were right. You are in a foul mood. What did you fight with mother about?"

"I just exiled her to the Far Shores palace. This made her unhappy."

"I can only imagine." Laughing, Akane sat next to Merkamou and pushed her own red hair behind her shoulders. "What made you do that? Not that I mind. I think it was long overdue, myself."

"One too many orders about what I will or will not do." Merkamou jumped to his feet and started pacing. "Where do your loyalties lay, Akane?"

"With you, little brother. Just as they always have."

"And your mate?"

"That would imply that my mate had any thought in his head more complex then threatening whatever was most annoying to him at the moment. And telling everyone that he is next in line to the Southern Lands."

"What was father thinking?"

"That I could manage him, and that with two sons that he would not ever inherit. It is still a good alliance, and I have no trouble with managing him. It is rather cute, truth be known."

"Hai." Merkamou continued to pace, much to his sister's amusement.

"Tell me what is truly bothering you, little brother. If it was just mother your mood would have improved already. Why do you care where my mate's loyalties lay?"

"Have you ever wanted something so much that you would give anything for it, but it is just out of reach?"

"Impossible. We can fly, after all, my dear brother. I would find a way, and give up everything I had if need be. Who is she? I assume this is not Sora."

"No, not Sora. Someone so unacceptable that it would cost me my position."

"A ningen. You fell for a ningen. Is Sesshomaru contagious?"

Merkamou gave her a glare. "Hai, a ningen. And it has nothing to do with Sesshomaru, except for one little detail. She is his ward, and might as well be his daughter."

"And you are giving up this easily?"

"Nani?"

"The last time I asked you were Lord of the Southern Lands. You are an equal to Sesshomaru, and you answer to no one. Why are you looking for permission from creatures that are bowing before you?"

"Mother . . . "

"Is in exile. You did that today, remember?"

"Your mate . . . "

"I will manage the idiot."

"The lords . . . "

"Are lords because you let them be. Does Sesshomaru or Hideaki ask for permission from the lords? No, they issue a command and are obeyed."

"They will try to kill her. And hanyou heirs . . . "

"If you are this smitten she must be able to take care of herself, and there are ways around the heir problem. Why do you want her?"

"Because I can imagine no one else at my side. She would be an amazing Lady of the South."

A soft smile appeared when Akane heard the adoration in her brother's voice. "Choose an heir. Not my mate, please never that, but someone of acceptable blood. If you take Sora, then your son would take over as heir. If you take the ningen you would still have a taiyoukai as your heir."

"The merlin would never agree to that."

"Or do as Sesshomaru has done. His heir is a hanyou. Make it a fashion statement. Your nobles are so feather headed that half of them will take a ningen just to imitate you. Either way, if you declare an heir it takes my mate out of the picture, as well as keeping those annoying nobles happy. I can handle my adorable idiot."

"Why are you helping me? You have never liked ningens."

"That is true, and I still do not. But I like seeing my little brother this miserable even less." Akane joined Merkamou against the wall.

"What if she does not want me enough to fight? It is a very easy life she has been offered with Takashi."

"I must meet this ningen that has made my overly confident brother question himself at every turn. Do you want her?"

"More then life."

"Then win her, little brother. You are the Lord of the South, which you seem to forget at any opportunity. If she has the sense of an ox she will be delighted to be with you. But be fair and talk to Takashi. I have always liked him, even if he is a bit intense for my tastes."

"What if. . . "

"No more questions! If you wish to take a ningen you must get this court of yours in shape! They should not be questioning you. I have been waiting and waiting for you to take control of this mob as you were born to do."

Merkamou whispered, "I am not Daichi."

Akane softened. "I know. You are Merkamou, and Daichi was always telling me how proud he was of you. That you were so brave and such a quick learner."

"Really?"

"Really. Stop playing second best to your brother. He is gone, Merkamou, and these are your lands now."

There was a heavy sigh as Merkamou let his head droop. "I never wanted this."

A gentle arm pulled her brother over so he could lean on her. "But the fates wanted you as Lord. Now do it. You can have your chosen mate if you are willing to fight for her, or you can just give up and whimper about it and make us all insane. I do hope you choose the girl, because I will get tired of your whimpering very quickly."

"I can win this fight, especially with you to watch my back. Akane, you are amazing."

"And as many times as you tell me that I still never tire of it. Are you going to bring your court under control, or shall I call in the rest of our flock?"

"No! Please, do not call in our sisters. I will be good. Tomorrow there is a council meeting."

"I think I shall attend. It should be most entertaining."

----

"No."

"My lord?"

Merkamou looked up from the document in front of him and glared at the noble that had been speaking. "No."

"Merkamou-sama, my family provided resources during that battle, and we need support until we recover."

"I do not remember seeing you in battle. If you would like to discuss loses, you can talk to any of the widows in the court that I am now supporting. In the mean time, no."

Akane was using her fan to hide her smile, thoroughly enjoying this meeting. Her brother glanced at her, easily reading her amusement. He rolled his eyes before returning his attention to the council.

The chastised noble was sitting again, and there was silence. No one wished to speak up with Merkamou acting so unusually.

"Perhaps I should explain something. I am tired of the whining and the begging. I am done listening to directions on how I will do things. I appreciate advice, but I am done with the commands. Your positions are mine to give or take."

"Merkamou-sama, my family has served these lands for many centuries, and we earned this title before you even existed. How can you claim that my title is yours to give and take?" A young lord glared across the room at the hawk.

"It is very simple. Your title is now gone. I have just taken it. You may leave now."

"You are not serious."

"Deadly serious. Leave."

"I will not listen to such . . . " The noble was cut off when Merkamou snatched him off the ground by his throat.

"If you would like to lose your life along with your title, continue to talk. Otherwise, leave."

There was a heavy silence as Merkamou dropped the annoying male, who quickly ran out the door. "Is there anymore business that requires my attention?"

"No, no my lord."

"Then you are all dismissed." Merkamou stood to the side and let the nobles bolt out the door, leaving him with Akane. "Well, Akane-neechan, do you think they got the message?"

"I believe so, Merkamou-chan." Akane hated it when he called her by the name he had used when he was young. "It will take some time before they really accept this though. Many will say that it is just Sesshomaru's influence, and that you will go back to your old self if they wait."

"Then they will be waiting for a long time."

----

Rin's jaw was hanging open as she read her latest letter from Merkamou. "Kagome-chan, Merkamou exiled his mother!"

"No way." Kagome leaned over Rin's shoulder to read the letter. "He did! I know he didn't get along with her, but what did she do to get exiled?"

"I do not know. He does not give details. He also declared his sister's oldest son as his heir. Sora will not like that." Rin handed to the note over to Kagome so she could read the whole thing.

"It's just temporary. A lot of the lords do that when they don't have a son, just to play it safe. He certainly has been busy. It looks like he is cleaning house to me. He's probably getting ready to bring Sora out."

The small dagger buried itself in the wood of the door frame, making Mizuki jump.

"Rin-chan, not inside. You scared poor Mizuki." Kagome pulled the dagger from the wall and handed it back to Rin.

"Gomen, Kagome-chan. Gomen, Mizuki-chan"

"I won't talk about that female anymore, before you decide to start venting your frustrations with your katanas. Have you heard from Takashi?"

"Not yet."

"You should hear from him soon. Sesshomaru just sent a messenger with a note for him. We want him to come up so we can meet him."

"You mean test him." Rin glared at the miko. "Please do not chase this one off."

"Not unless we have to. Merkamou has to come up to deal with negotiations for Sora anyways, so they can both come up at the same time and save some time."

"Merkamou? Coming here? He just left! We might as well assign a permanent room to that trouble maker."

"Not right away, but he is coming. He had to come and get Sora, you know. You can avoid him to your heart's content, as long as you spend some time with Takashi. I don't want you to get into a bad situation you can't get out of."

"Very well, Kagome-chan." Rin climbed to her feet. "I am going out to the gardens. I will deal with whatever other disasters you have found for me later."


	57. Competition

A/N: First things first. Gppr made a picture of Merkamou, and I love it! http / robotech. neocamera. com/ fa- inu02. html without the spaces. I've been babbling and giggling for about an hour now over it. Yea! Okay, focusing now.

Mr. J Everyday, I snorted coke out my nose because of your comment. :-p Chrissy-wolf, I'm so flattered, but I'm a married woman. Not that my husband would protest, mind you. Yes, Merkamou has several sisters, and was not lucky enough to have the idiot be the male that was killed. Sorry blackXheart, I've been heavily medicated. It's hard to concentrate. That's my excuse for this chapter, anyways. And why is it that no one trusts any of my new characters anymore? Am I that predictable, or am I that unpredictable? And now I am dead set against Takashi and Sora just because everyone said so. I wanted to, but I hate being predictable!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Well, I'm popular today.'

Four messages were lying on Kagome's desk after lunch. Three were for her, and one was for Mizuki. "Mizuki-chan, you have a message from Cho."

The pup eagerly took her message, settling on her usual cushion next to Rin to enjoy her letter. Kagome looked over her remaining messages. One from Akira, one from Mayu, and one from Merkamou. 'This could be bad. I'll start with Akira, it's probably the most important.'

_Kagome-sama,_

_I hope that things have been well for you and your family. I have decided to accept Isamu's request to be his mate, and he is now taking the position of Lord of the East. We have sent word to all of the Lords, but I thought that I should let you know personally. I am hopeful that this relationship will be more acceptable for all involved._

_I cannot thank you enough for your assistance in my time of need, and for introducing me to my new mate. I hope that you will support this partnership._

_Peace, _

_Akira_

"No way!" Kagome flipped the message back and forth, shaking it. She checked the floor over, looking for a sakura blossom. "Kumo, did anything fall out of this?"

"No, Kagome-sama. Is there bad news?" Kumo looked up from the ledger she had been updating.

"Isamu and Akira eloped! No blossom, so she's telling the truth. Isamu is Lord of the East."

"No way." Kumo blinked twice when she realized what she had said. "I believe I have spent too much time in your presence, Kagome-sama."

"It's good for you, Kumo. I don't know what Sesshomaru is going to think of this. He's so young!" The miko glanced at her other messages. "I can pretty much guess what Mayu is going to say."

"Cho said the same thing. She thinks it is very funny, but she says the adults are all very angry." Mizuki handed the first page of her letter to Rin and continued reading.

Breaking the seal on the note from Mayu, the miko braced herself for a rant.

_Kagome-sama,_

_You will never in a hundred years believe what that ungrateful lump of a son I bore has done. He has mated Akira! He is now Lord of the East, of all the preposterous things! Hideaki is furious. I would have never let him stay with that dragon, but my foolish mate will let that boy do anything he wants. And see what it has caused? All those years of waiting for a son, to have him run off and mate our sworn enemy. May that precious Katsuro-chan never give you the kind of grief that my son has given me. Hideaki does not think that Isamu could hold both the East and North, so he is naming my oldest daughter's mate as heir. And Isamu does not care! He would rather stay with Akira then take his rightful place after Hideaki! The cub has no mind._

_Please send my greetings to Mizuki-san._

_Mayu_

Tears were running down Kagome's face as she laughed at Mayu's note. "Mayu-sama says hi, Mizuki."

"I will send my own greetings through Cho." Mizuki handed another page to Rin and kept reading.

"I cannot imagine Isamu as the Lord of the East. How can he be a great lord when I have knocked him over so many times?" Rin skimmed over the note from Cho. "Mizuki, did you really threaten to hit Goro with a throwing knife?"

Mizuki ignored her.

"Jo-chan, I hate to tell you this, but I have seen you throw two of the great lords onto the ground. It may very well have been three if Hideaki had ever sparred with you. I don't think we can use you as a measure of how tough a taiyoukai is." Kagome opened her next message and started to read. "According to this, Merkamou and Takashi are leaving one day after this message was sent, so they should have left yesterday. Figure they are going to be at least as fast as our messengers, so tomorrow."

"Maybe Takashi can convince that hawk to travel at a normal pace."

"I would not put money on that. Poor Takashi, having to travel with him. Kumo, can you handle . . ."

"I will do it, Mama. I have been helping Kumo-san, and I think I can handle it." The sapphire eyes were bright with hope.

"Fine. Mizuki, can you handle the guest rooms for these two? With a little help from Kumo?" Kagome fought back a smile.

"Hai, Mama." The last page of the note was handed to Rin, then Mizuki was zipping out the door.

"No running in the palace, Mizuki!" Kagome could hear her daughter's steps slow to a more sedate pace as they disappeared.

----

'They are the cutest couple.'

Rin was in the highest branches of a magnolia tree, looking out over the gardens. Out at the edge of the garden she could make out Kagome and Sesshomaru, walking together. Kagome was in high spirits, tucking flowers into her hair and spinning about. Her mate was watching her with that slightly perplexed but fascinated look he usually had when he was with her. The miko seemed to be trying to explain something to him, waving her hands and turning about.

Evidently the explanation was not working, because Kagome grabbed onto the taiyoukai, setting one of his hands at her waist and holding his other hand up in the air. Using a hand on his shoulder she was pushing him about, making him walk back and forth a few steps. Rin stared, as perplexed as Sesshomaru as she tried to figure out what Kagome was doing. There was a pattern that was repeated every three steps, but they did not seem to be going anywhere. Holding on to one hand Kagome spun away from him, only to spin back into his arms, smiling brightly.

Sesshomaru stopped moving and was still as a statue. Kagome tried to force him to move, but with no luck. She put her hands on her hips, leaning forward to lecture him about something. 'Knowing her she is lecturing him about not having fun.' The index finger was out, waving at her mate. 'This will not end well.'

The miko found herself over Sesshomaru's shoulder and being carried away. Now Rin could hear Kagome's yelling, just faintly across the gardens. "Put me down, you big jerk! What do you think you're doing?"

Without even glancing at his protesting bundle, Sesshomaru hauled her away and out of Rin's sight.

'Just adorable. If anyone ever knew, Sesshomaru-sama would never live it down. Actually, he would probably strike them down for that kind of knowledge. I should keep this strictly to myself.' Rin set her chin on a branch, staring into the gardens that were now empty. 'I would love to have someone like that. Someone to walk in the gardens with and talk. Someone to relax with. Merkamou is right, I do push myself hard.'

Thinking about the hawk was a bad plan. 'Oh, now I am going to think about him for the rest of the day. No, I will think of Takashi instead. After all, he is the one I am going to be with.'

Staring into the gardens, Rin imagined walking with Takashi like that. She would pick flowers, tending to her plants while she talked strategy and movements with the future general. That would be ideal. Perhaps they could even work through some moves in the gardens, using branches from a tree instead of swords. A game. It had been a long time since Rin had played a game instead of training.

'And a young one of my own, to play with us in the gardens. A daughter, and I could teach her sword play like the Captain taught me. Takashi could help, and we could all play together in the gardens. What would she look like?'

A little girl with dark eyes and black hair mixed with feathers formed in her mind. She would be fast, like Mizuki, but not nearly as serious. 'She could wear clothing like mine, so she could run and play without a kimono getting in the way. She would be amazing.'

While she was day dreaming, she picked colors for her future daughter's clothing. 'Red, bright red.'

'Wait a minute, my daughter had black hair, why does she seem to have red hair now?' In her mind Takashi's hair had also turned to red, and the eyes were a bright gold. The voice that spoke was not the dark, calm voice of her intended, but the fire of the Southern Lord.

"Merlin."

"Ahhh!" Rin lost her balance and started to fall from the tree. She caught herself as she went, now hanging upside down as she glared at Merkamou. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Both of the red and gold eyebrows went up into his hair. "Well, greetings to you as well."

"Why do you even bother telling us when you will arrive if you have no intention of staying with that schedule?"

"I left exactly when I intended to."

"You got here in one day? Did you fly the whole way?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"Poor Takashi, did you kill him with your haste, or is he passed out somewhere?"

There was a definite scowl at Rin's concern over Takashi. "He is well. He did not feel comfortable moving about the grounds without greeting the Lord and Lady first, so he is waiting in the reception hall with Shippo. I knew I could easily find you, and that you could help me find Sesshomaru-sama and Kagome-sama."

Rin's heart rate jumped at the mention of how easily he could find her. Realizing that she was still hanging upside down, she grabbed onto a branch and swung so that her feet were underneath her. "I suppose this means I should come down and play hostess. Sesshomaru-sama and Kagome-chan just left, and I do not believe they wish to be disturbed. Will Takashi accept a greeting from me until they return?"

"I believe he would." Merkamou watched with barely disguised enjoyment as his merlin came down from the tree. She was a joy to watch with her elegant, controlled strength.

Landing next to the hawk, Rin ran her hands over her hair. "Do I look presentable? I do not want him to change his mind."

"You are more than presentable, merlin."

"Arigato, Merkamou. Let us go and rescue your cousin. He must be getting nervous in the hall with just that kit for company. Are Kagome-chan's guards watching him?"

"Oh, hai. They leave me alone because Kagome-sama insisted, but they seem to think that Takashi is a possible threat. That is the other reason he did not want to move around until he had been greeted by the family. He was concerned about the guards being overprotective."

Falling in step beside Rin, Merkamou fought to stop grinding his teeth. Takashi had been quite philosophical about the whole situation, but had insisted on having a chance with her. The choice would be entirely Rin's, and Merkamou had agreed to let Takashi meet with her before he told her of the change in his situation. It would only be fair that she actually spend some time with his cousin before making such a decision.

Nervous hands were fluttering everywhere. 'He says that my hair looks fine, but he is rather biased. Perhaps I should stop at my room, but Takashi is waiting. Kagome-chan's guards can be rather intimidating when they take it into their head to be so. I cannot believe he is here already, I was not ready. I was going to wear a kimono and greet him with Kagome. Now I am with Merkamou and I just tried to fall out of a tree. Not that I mind being with Merkamou, but he does not usually settle my nerves. Quite the opposite. Oh, I think my heart is going to pound right through me chest.'

"Breathe, merlin. You will be fine." Merkamou had watched with some concern as Rin's breathing came faster as they got closer to the palace.

"Are you sure? I do not know if I can do this. Why am I so nervous? The last time he saw me I was in a pile of cloaks and badly injured. I cannot look worse then that. Maybe I should change, or find Kumo. She could touch my hair up. Or maybe that is the wrong message. What do I do?"

"Breathing would be an excellent start."

Sucking in a lung full of air, Rin felt her body tingle. "I suppose I have not been breathing recently."

"Not since we left that tree."

"He will like me, right?"

"He already does."

"Right. I can do this. If I pass out please carry me back to my room."

"I will do that. Go on, the guards are probably getting bored by now."

Taking a last deep breath, Rin let herself into the reception hall. Standing in the middle of the floor was her intended and the kit. The guard was giving the adult nasty looks from around the room, but snapped to attention when they saw Rin. Smiling, Rin waved them out. There was a moment of hesitation, as though the game had been ended early, but they obediently left.

"It is a relief to see a familiar face, Rin-san. I was beginning to feel like a criminal." Takashi gave her a friendly smile as he turned to face her.

"Rin! You look much better." Shippo bounced up to her, looking over her now mostly healed hip and shoulder.

'Breathe, before I pass out. I have faced a taiyoukai on my own, I can do this. I think. Oh, I think I am going to be sick. Merkamou is going to be carrying me out at this rate.' Thanking her stars that Akira had taught her this trick, Rin snapped open her fan to hide her nervous hands and uneven breathing. "Arigato, short one. Kagome-chan's guard was selected for their loyalty to the family, and it is a duty they take most seriously."

"Merkamou-sama, she's not very nice to me." Shippo retreated to his lord.

"She is lucky to have such devoted protection." The dark haired taiyoukai moved closer to her, looking into her eyes. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Rin-san."

"It is a pleasure to see you as well, Takashi-sama."

There was an awkward silence as Rin wracked her brain for something to say. 'Why does my mind stop working at times like this? I can think of anything during battle, but I have an attractive male smiling at me and it might as well be sawdust up there.'

"I do not believe Takashi or Shippo have been to this palace before. Perhaps we could show them around?" Merkamou knew that he could not leave Takashi and Rin without a chaperone, it would be improper. He would wait until Kagome's return to drop out of sight.

Rin was so thankful for Merkamou's help that she nearly hugged him. "A wonderful idea, my lord. Would that interest you, Takashi-sama?"

"Nothing could make me happier then walking with you, Rin-san." Takashi fell into step beside her with Merkamou and Shippo taking up the rear.

"Then we will start in the gardens. Kagome-chan would be a much better guide for the rest of the palace, since I do not remember most of the history, but I know the gardens like my own hand."

The tour of the gardens was pure hell for Merkamou. He was silent as Rin chatted with Takashi, showing him the different gardens and flowers that she cared for. When his cousin offered a hand to help his intended step off a bridge he was caught between jealousy and laughter. Jealousy at having someone else touching her, and laughter that his merlin would need a hand to step off of something. Of course Rin took the offered hand with a smile and thanks, as was polite.

The small group had stopped by a massive wall of honeysuckle when they picked up the voices of Sesshomaru and Kagome.

"Well, if that is what you are going to do every time I try to teach you something you think is dumb, then I will be thinking of a bunch of dumb things to teach you. Even if I'm going to have a hard time walking after . . . "

Blushing for her friend, Rin yelled. "Kagome-chan! We have company."

"What the . . . what are you guys doing here?" There was a pause, then footsteps on the other side of the flowers. Kagome stuck her head around the honeysuckle. "Shippo! Nobody said that you were coming. And I'm just going to have a permanent room set up for you, trouble maker. You're always early, and you always stay late. This must be Takashi. It's nice to meet you when I might remember it."

"Kagome!" Shippo hurtled at his friend, grabbing her around the waist. "I've missed you!"

"Kagome-sama." Takashi dipped into a low bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you again, Lady of the West."

"Nobody calls me that." Kagome glanced over her shoulder as her mate moved up behind her. "Did you meet Sesshomaru last time?"

"No, I did not. A true honor, Sesshomaru-sama." There was a second low bow to the lord.

There was a slight nod, letting Takashi straighten. "Merkamou-sama."

"Sesshomaru-sama. It seems that I see more of you then my own court these days."

"Hn."

"I was taking Takashi-sama and Shippo on a tour of the gardens." Rin fidgeted as Kagome and Sesshomaru looked Takashi over like an animal at the fair.

"Can I join you? I'm sure Sesshomaru has something really important to deal with at the palace." Kagome glanced at her taiyoukai again.

"Hai." Catching Kagome's thought, he glanced at Merkamou. "I have a document that requires your attention, Merkamou-sama."

"Of course, Sesshomaru-sama. Shippo, you can stay here. I look forward to seeing you later, my ladies." Merkamou bowed to Kagome and Rin before following Sesshomaru back to the palace.

"So, Takashi, tell me about yourself. Everything." Kagome gave a bright smile as she began her interrogation.

-----

'Poor Takashi. I am certain that he has never been questioned like that. I wonder if he passed.' Rin glanced up from her meal to look at her intended. He was across from her, sitting next to Merkamou. This was extremely awkward for Rin, because she was trying to avoid looking at one, but trying to take extra time to look at the other. She would need to talk to Kagome about the seating arrangements dinner tomorrow. Shippo was next to her, making faces when he thought Mizuki was not looking. Rin was suspicious that the pup was seeing everything, but would bide her time. Irritated, she gave him a bump with her elbow. It did not seem to work, since the kit just started to make faces at her instead.

Sesshomaru's daughter was enthralled with having yet another military leader around. She was blatantly picking his mind and discovering all of the details from the battle to the east. When she had heard about so many lords and generals all discussing strategy she had looked crushed. She secretly hoped that the next war would be when she was old enough to come along. This hawk seemed to be perfectly happy to discuss strategy all night, and it was not until she was yawning with enough vigor to make her jaw pop that Kagome was able to pull her away for her own bed.

Escaping to her own room, Rin followed Kagome and Mizuki down the hall. The miko gave her a look that clearly said she was going to be coming over to talk. Rin nodded and continued to her room, changing into a yukata and robe. She was settled on top of her blankets with a scroll when the Kagome slipped in.

"He seems really nice."

"Hai." Rin set her reading aside.

"And I just know he's going to make general after listening to him with Mizuki."

"Hai."

"Then why do I feel like this is a bad idea?"

"Because you are a hopeless romantic, Kagome-chan." Rin collapsed on her bed. "You will not be happy unless I have a happily ever after with a certain red headed taiyoukai."

"That's part of it, of course. But the other part is because I don't think your personalities match. He is pretty serious."

"This is coming from the mate of Sesshomaru-sama?"

"I'll have you know that he has an evil sense of humor. And we're not talking about me, we're talking about you."

"I like the fact that he takes things seriously."

"Really?" Kagome sat next to her on the blankets. "Then why did you fall in love with someone that spooked your dragon so that it took off with you and is called trouble maker?"

"Rumor has it that you were once in love with an unmannered hanyou that would swing first and ask questions later."

"This has nothing to do with him." Kagome snapped her head away. "Fine, I see your point. I'll let it go. I think Sesshomaru is willing to go along with this. We'll see tomorrow what he does. We both want you to be happy."

"I know, Kagome-chan." Rin hugged her friend tightly. "You worry too much."

"Of course I do. Now, go to sleep. No staying up all night to read like Mizuki. I'm going to go steal her lamp before I call it a night. Otherwise she will be trying to read instead of sleeping."

"I will see you tomorrow."

The single lamp was extinguished. The dark was not soothing, but instead seemed to wake up all of Rin's concerns. 'What am I doing? Can I be happy with him? I certainly will not be braiding things into his hair or having him help me with my flowers. But he is very nice. I want to go outside, but going out this late leads to nothing but trouble.'

Anxiety drove her to pace around her room. She slid her window open so that the moonlight could shine in. The grounds were deserted, relieving some of her anxiety. 'I swear, if I have the urge to go out and roam it means that everyone is outside just waiting for me.'

Resting her chin on her hands, she stared out over the dancing fireflies. She loved this palace, and could not imagine being anywhere else. But if things went well with Takashi she would be leaving, probably within the month. Somewhere else would be home. She would be surrounded by strangers, and mated to one. The anxiety ramped up until her back was a solid rope of tension. 'What am I doing? Can I even do that with him? I do not know.'

Claustrophobia gripped her. 'I do not care if every monster in Japan is out there, I cannot stay in here.' With a quick move she vaulted out the window. Her bare feet sank into the grass as she skipped towards the gardens. Alone in the moonlight she spun about like a little girl, her loose hair tossing about. Now she was free.

Inside the palace she could see lights moving past closed windows. She knew which room was Takashi's, and the lamps were being lit in that room. Evidently he had also decided to find his room. Feeling mischievous, she snuck up to the window and rapped on it. A pair of dark eyes appeared from behind the rice paper, with a blade in his hand.

"Easy, Takashi-sama, it is just me!"

"Rin-san? What are you doing outside, alone, at night?" Takashi tried not to notice her clothing.

"I was bored. I saw you coming to bed, so I wanted to wish you a good night."

"Rin-san, there is no chaperone. You should not be here."

Rin rolled her eyes. "I am not inside of your room, or even near you. I am just wishing you a good night, then I will return to my own room."

"Arigato, Rin-san. I do not wish any harm to come to you. Anyone who saw you tonight, by my window, unsupervised would ask awkward questions. I understand that you are an innocent about these matters, but it is inappropriate."

"Of course, Takashi-sama. I will see you tomorrow."

She heard the window slide shut behind her as she walked away. 'He certainly is honorable. Rather boring. What kind of a lady have I become? Isamu would be downright proud of me, accosting my intended in the middle of the night.' Her thoughts boiled higher and higher as she rounded the end of the palace and approached the family's wing. 'Why do I feel like I am disappointed that he just turned me away? It means that he is honorable, and not at all like Isamu. But that means that Merkamou is dishonorable, and I cannot see him that way. Even if we did do some rather dishonorable things. Not that I minded. Is Takashi really that honorable, or is he just not as interested?'

Frustration led to desperate action. Rin hurled a rock at Merkamou's window, bouncing off of the frame.

"And what is your problem, merlin?" Merkamou's hair was mussed and he was bare chested as he slid his window open. "Some of us are civilized and believe in resting when it is late at night."

"Civilized? You are not wearing a kimono, Merkamou. I cannot sleep."

"Sleep would require you to lie down and relax."

Rin chucked another rock, which Merkamou caught. Crossing her arms, she started to pace again. "I cannot relax."

"I see this. Why are you so anxious?"

"I do not know what to do. I hardly know him, and yet I am agreeing to go to his home where I will know no one. And I will be his mate. He is a stranger to me, Merkamou."

"It is not too late to change your mind, merlin."

"And do what?"

There was a heavy silence as Merkamou tried to find the right words.

"And do what, Merkamou?"

"You could be with me."

"We had this discussion!" Rin's pacing gained a stomp as she marched back and forth. "I will not be your whore, and I will not cause the fall of the Southern Lands!"

"Stop yelling before you wake the entire palace, merlin. The situation has changed. I told you that I had exiled my mother."

"Yes, you did, but that will not be enough. You told me about your unruly nobles and your oldest sister's mate. I cannot believe that you have brought this up again."

"I have taken care of these problems. I wish for you to be with me, so I have made it possible. No, it is not a perfect life. Or even an easy one, but it is possible."

Rin froze, looking away from him. "And what of Takashi?"

"He knows. The decision is yours, and yours alone. I could not just push him aside, he is my cousin and a favorite of my sister."

Moving closer to the window, Rin felt her body start to shake. "How were you able to fix this?"

"My sister's oldest son is now heir, so her mate is no longer a problem. And she has agreed to control the idiot. Mother is gone, and I have spent the last few weeks explaining a new set of rules to my nobles. I will fight for you, my merlin. If you want me."

"I do not know if I want to slap you or kiss you right now."

"I would prefer the later." Merkamou was leaning out the window, teasing Rin with his eyes.

"Oh no. You do not get to just announce this and win. I will give Takashi a fair chance."

Snagging Rin by the wrist, Merkamou smiled and whispered to her. "I know, but I can be very persuasive when need be."

"Let my ward go."

Merkamou and Rin both turned at the low growl to see Sesshomaru with Tokijin in his hand and his eyes bleeding red. "I will kill you for this behavior, Merkamou."

Terror gripped Rin. "Kagome-chan!"


	58. For Her

A/N: Well, 30 reviews from one chapter. And just about everyone said that I was evil. My work here is done. :-) This chapter was hard to do, since I wanted to make it perfect. It's always hard to do a fight between two powerful characters, especially when you like both of them and you don't want either of them to lose. Of course I'm still not happy with it, but I'm worried about getting bombs in the mail if I don't post something soon. –evil grin-.

Ding ding ding, place your bets for the fight of the century. Sesshomaru vs. Merkamou. I have been wanting to do this battle since Merkamou first showed up. Place your bets and enjoy the damage.

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"He seems nice enough. Maybe a little boring, but he could be shy."

Sesshomaru looked at the little miko that was already burrowed under the blankets. "Being called boring by you would be considered a compliment by many." He barely moved to dodge a slipper aimed for his head.

"Baka."

The great taiyoukai grabbed Kagome's blanket and pulled it off of the bed.

"Give that back! It's cold in here!"

"Will you refrain from throwing things at my person?"

"I'm gonna . . . what is it?"

Sesshomaru had frozen, head tipped slightly to the side. Kagome knew he was listening to something, and whatever it was did not sit well with him.

_I will not be your whore or cause the fall of the Southern Lands!_

_Stop yelling before you wake the entire palace, merlin._

"I will kill him."

"Whoa! What did you hear?" The miko had her hand to her forehead, feeling as thought the fury coming off of her mate might sweep her away.

Grabbing Tokijin, the inu-youkai slid his window open. "Stay here."

"Where are you going? Who are you killing? At least put some more clothes on!"

There was no answer as he disappeared into the night.

"Just great." Trying to shake off the effect of his rage, Kagome hunted for a robe and a guard for Katsuro. "Now I have to go chase him down."

----

'He has asked Rin to be his whore. There will not be enough pieces for even Tensaiga to bring him back.' Sesshomaru rounded the end of the palace and found his prey. The moonlight clearly showed Rin standing outside, dressed for sleep, and with a half dressed Merkamou pulling on her wrist. 'How dare he lay a hand on my ward. Bastard.'

"I will kill you for this behavior, Merkamou."

Two faces turned to look at the low growl. Rin went white at the expression on his face while the hawk tensed.

"Kagome-chan!"

"Sesshomaru-sama, I do not know what you think is going on, but it is not worth killing over. I will assume you have overheard out conversation."

"Disgusting proposition."

Rin slipped her hand free of Merkamou's grip and moved down the palace. The hawk straightened, glancing at the table in his room that held his sword within his reach. He had never thought that Sesshomaru would protest his ward becoming Lady of the South. "It is not a disgusting proposition. I thought you would support it."

The inu-youkai snarled and swung Tokijin. Merkamou grabbed his own sword and ducked for cover as the wall was destroyed.

"This is beneath her, Merkamou. She will never go with you."

Sword in hand, Merkamou walked through the remains of the wall to face the lord. "I will not let you stand in the way."

There was the ring of steel on steel as Sesshomaru attacked, pushing Merkamou back. "She is my ward, and your behavior has brought about your death."

"If you think I will back down to you after facing my own court, my own sister, and even my mother, you are mistaken." The hawk attacked in return, no longer on the defensive. "If she wishes to be with me then I will take on anyone, including you, Sesshomaru."

"She would never wish for such dishonor." Tokijin was pushing Merkamou back again as Sesshomaru let his youkai instincts gain control. This bastard would not have the chance to dishonor his ward.

The hawk's control snapped. "You know nothing." A blast of wind pushed Sesshomaru away, forcing the taiyoukai to slam Tokijin into the ground as an anchor. Merkamou attacked again while his opponent was distracted, forcing him to abandon Tokijin and leap away. The poison whip flashed into existence, snapping at the hawk he was dodging. The whip wrapped around Merkamou's blade and snatched it away. Before the whip could return Merkamou was a wisp of flame, streaking off to recover his sword.

Both recovered their swords and faced off again.

"I will kill you before you touch her again."

"And I will kill you before I give her up."

----

Mizuki woke to the sound of angry voices outside of her window. Rubbing her eyes she went to investigate, sliding the window open to find her father, sister, and Merkamou outside together. Rin slipped her hand away from Merkamou and moved towards Mizuki's window.

"Rin-neechan, what is going on?"

"Stay inside, Mizuki."

The palace shook as the wall to Merkamou's room was destroyed. Mizuki ducked with a squeak, watching debris soar past her window. "Rin-neechan!"

"I am fine, Mizuki-chan." Rin vaulted into her sister's window. "We have to find Kagome-chan."

"What the hell is going on?" Kagome had her hand on her forehead as she ran in. "Who is he trying to kill? I can't get anything but red haze."

"Merkamou. You have to stop him!" Rin pulled Kagome down by the wall as the wind blasted outside, ripping the screen from Mizuki's window and hurling it into the room.

"What have you done, Rin? They are really trying to kill each other this time."

"Nothing! We were talking when Sesshomaru just showed up and said he was going to kill Merkamou."

"He heard something before he took off. What did you say?"

"I do not know. He asked me to be with him, and I said . . . oh no, I yelled that I would not be his whore. Oh, Kagome-chan, Sesshomaru-sama thinks Merkamou wants me for a concubine, and Merkamou just asked me to be his mate!"

"He what? Oh, Rin-chan, that's wonderful! Assuming he lives through this."

"You must stop Sesshomaru-sama!"

"I can't influence him without touching him, and even I can't get near him right now."

"But if he stops long enough for you to get near him, then you could end this?"

"Probably, but he is so wound up that I'm getting angry myself. I'm almost ready to kill that hawk for him."

"You must try, Kagome-chan." Rin ran out of the door, racing for her own room. 'I will stop Sesshomaru-sama myself. I will not let him kill Merkamou.'

----

Sparks flew as the two taiyoukai exchanged blows again. Sesshomaru was taking advantage of his height, trying to overpower the smaller youkai. Merkamou stepped out from underneath, kicking his opponent hard enough to knock him back. A hit opened a long cut down Sesshomaru's arm, staining his arm with black blood.

The inu-youkai charged again, but his leap was knocked off course by a whirlwind of Merkamou's creation. The poison whip snapped into existence, slashing the hawk across the back. Stumbling, Merkamou gritted his teeth against the searing pain. 'Poison. Of course. Ouch.'

Time was short. The poison would start slowing him down soon, and Merkamou had to finish it now. As the inu-youkai landed the hawk was on him again, pressing the inu-youkai back.

Sesshomaru was surprised to find himself being pushed back. He had always seen the hawk as the weakest of the taiyoukai, but he was reevaluating this assessment as he blocked the attacks. Tokijin was knocked up and out of the way, and the Lord of the West was rather surprised to find a dagger between his ribs. Kicking Merkamou away, he pulled the dagger out. The hawk had kept the dagger hidden at his waist, and had slipped it in for a hit.

'Now I have truly made him mad.' Merkamou fell back and twisted, dodging his own dagger as it was thrown at him. The poison was starting to take effect as his opponent charged him again. Rapid blows were exchanged as each hunted for an opening. Binding up Sesshomaru's blade, the hawk punched him in the temple. While his opponent's balance was off he brought up the pommel and slammed it into his throat. The sword was snapped around and slammed through Sesshomaru's stomach, twisting as it went to open a large hole.

"Do you honestly think that will stop me?" Ignoring the sword, Sesshomaru grabbed the hawk's arm and sank his claws in. More poison was sent rushing through his opponent's blood stream.

Staggering, Merkamou broke loose and moved away. "No, but it will slow even you down."

Sesshomaru pulled the blade from his stomach, dropping it to the ground. "This will not slow me down enough to save you."

Unarmed and poisoned, Merkamou tried to come up with a plan. Options seemed rather thin with Sesshomaru advancing on him with Tokijin. Transforming now would be pointless, he could not fly like this. 'I hate calling fire without transforming, but I do not have a choice. This will hurt.'

Sesshomaru leapt, aiming a killing blow with Tokijin at his opponent. Gritting his teeth, Merkamou sent fire blasting at him. The inu-youkai ignored the flames that burned his skin and continued his attack, slashing down to finish the hawk off. The wind and flame was pushing him back, but it would not be enough to stop the attack entirely. Merkamou braced, looking for an opening to sink his talons into his opponent as the distance closed. 'If I can get that sword out of his hands, I still have a chance.'

"No!"

Merkamou heard the yell and stopped the flames, unwilling to risk Rin.

Tokijin was brought to a halt by two katanas, crossed before their owner. The force of the blow sent Rin to her knees, but she kept her eyes on Sesshomaru. All three blades sparked and hissed as the youki in each of them fought for dominance.

"Rin. Move."

The exterminator shook as she held her hero back. "No, Sesshomaru-sama."

"Merlin, get out of here."

"I will not leave you."

Sesshomaru pressed down harder, pushing Rin down. "You will not go with him. Move."

"No, Sesshomaru-sama."

Kagome was moving up quietly from behind. Her mate knew where she was, and he was not amused. Spinning to face her, a low growl of warning rumbled from his chest as his eyes gleamed crimson. Running the last few steps, she threw herself at him. Her fingers grabbed onto his haori as she used all of her strength to calm him, to make him see that this was all a huge mistake. "Come back to me, Sesshomaru."

One clawed hand closed around her arm, cutting into her skin and leaving small patches of red on her robe. The miko did not move, but hung on tighter as the battle of wills continued. If she lost she may very well turn on Merkamou herself. She was touching him, so he could influence her the same way she was trying to influence him. The low growl continued as he held Tokijin in a white knuckle grip with one hand and Kagome's arm with the other. Slowly, the growl faded away. The hand moved from her arm to rest on her back, pulling her into an embrace. The miko was shaking like a leaf from exhaustion and relief.

"And what is the misunderstanding, koishii?" Sesshomaru whispered so that only Kagome could hear him.

"He doesn't want her for a concubine, he wants her for a mate."

"Nani?" Clawed fingers ran through Kagome's hair. She was still shaking, and Sesshomaru could smell her blood. He trailed gentle fingers over her arm, his jaw tightening with concern at the holes in her robe. "You should return to bed, Kagome."

"Not until after you have talked to Merkamou and Rin. I'm not leaving you until I'm sure you aren't going to kill anyone tonight. You scared poor Mizuki half to death."

"Very well." Sesshomaru looked over to where Rin was kneeling next to Merkamou. She was running her fingers over the cut on his back, concern radiating off of her. His own mate was staring in horror at the hole in his stomach, blood staining her own clothing.

"We need the healer." Kagome looked at her mate's back and shivered when she saw that the hole went all the way through.

"I will be fine. The hawk needs a healer."

The miko was not fooled for a moment by the bravado. She could feel the strain he was under just to stay on his feet. "This is not a flesh wound. This is a hole bigger then my arm through your middle. Mizuki-chan! Go wake up the healer!"

"Everyone is already awake, Mama! Father did try to destroy the palace, and the servants are putting out the fires that Merkamou started." Mizuki disappeared from her window and ran off to find Nori.

"She does not seem particularly frightened to me."

"Hush." Kagome looked over at the wing of the palace that was now on fire. The servants seemed to have everything under control, courtesy of some youkai that were able to use water to douse the flames. Her attention returned to the new couple kneeling in the grass. "Rin-chan, how is the trouble maker doing?"

"I think he will live, Kagome-chan." Rin shook her head. "You just draw problems to yourself, Merkamou."

"It is not my doing, merlin." Even while he was slumped in the grass, he could bring up his infectious smile. "This is only a problem when I am here. Perhaps it is a member of this family that draws the problems."

Sesshomaru looked at Kagome, who promptly smacked him, but gently. She ripped off part of her robe to try and stop the blood that was running from his stomach.

"Who is destroying the palace?" The healer followed Mizuki through the hole in Merkamou's wall. "Oh. I should have known."

"Enough comments. Help me patch these two up." Kagome helped herself to some of the bandages Nori had.

"And what about yourself?" The healer's sharp eyes had spotted the blood on Kagome's arm. Despite her protests, Kagome's sleeve was pushed up to reveal bruises and five deep punctures. "This will also need care."

"Fine, but then I want you to take care of Merkamou."

Kagome held still long enough for her arm to be wrapped before pushing the healer towards the hawk.

"My lord Merkamou, we meet again. And I must agree with you, Sesshomaru-sama does much more effective work then a dragon. Rin-san, you alone are not injured, what a surprise!"

"Will he be okay, Nori-sama?" Rin stayed with Merkamou as the healer checked the damage.

"Of course. Sesshomaru-sama's poison is much nastier since it burns like an acid, but it does not last long. Assuming the victim lives that long. How is your shoulder?"

"Much better, arigato."

"It's kind of convenient that they decided to do this half dressed. Less kimonos to replace." Kagome pulled a bandage tight around her mate. "Mizuki-chan, can you hand that wrap to me?"

"Hai, Mama." Mizuki knew that her father was in no danger, but there was blood everywhere. Sesshomaru caught her eye as she stared at the long cut down his arm and the burns.

"It is fine."

"Hai, father."

'Total word count in that conversation: five.' Cleaning off Sesshomaru's arm, Kagome pulled another bandage into place. "You need to talk to Merkamou and Rin."

"Hai."

"Tonight."

"Hn."

The miko looked over to her daughter. "Mizuki-chan, back to bed. I'll come by and check on you before I go to bed."

"Hai, Mama." Rather then go through the blown out wall, the pup jumped through her window. A few minutes later she threw the remains of the screen back out the window, along with some debris that had blown in.

"Change of plans, Mizuki-chan. My room is in one piece still, so grab your brother from the guards and go in there."

"Hai, Mama!"

"I am done with this one, and you have already tended to Sesshomaru-sama. I will check for other injuries." The healer gathered up his supplies and went back through the wall.

The two couples stared at each other.

"Dining hall. Let's go, and try not to destroy anymore of the palace." Kagome kept a hand on Sesshomaru as she steered him inside. "I'm going to suggest that both of you need more clothing."

"Of course, Kagome-sama." Merkamou looked around the shambles that had once been his room. "Hopefully I still have some."

"I will help you look." Rin pushed her way to the remains of the closet, letting the destroyed door just fall to the ground. "The damage is not that bad, actually. Other than your taste in clothing."

"Out of there, merlin. I do not need any more abuse tonight, least of all regarding my wardrobe." Even though he was staggering he was still able to lift Rin and move her out of his closet.

"Leave it, jo-chan." Kagome dragged her irritated mate to his own room. "And change out of those hakama as well, they are soaked in blood."

"We should not leave them alone." Sesshomaru tossed the ruined clothing aside as Kagome pulled her own blood soaked robe off.

"They're fine. You can let them have it after we are all sitting down and not covered in blood."

"Hn."

----

The two taiyoukai stared at each other from across the table. Kagome and Rin looked back and forth between them, hoping they were both too injured to attack each other again.

"Explain yourself."

Taking a deep breath, Merkamou braced himself. "I want to take the merlin as my mate."

"And when did you come to this conclusion."

"A while ago, but it has only become possible recently."

The amber eyes moved to Rin. "Then why were you yelling about being a whore?"

"That was an old argument. I misunderstood him." Rin fussed with the sash of her robe.

"Old argument?" Sesshomaru's gaze went back to Merkamou. "This has been going on for awhile?"

"Hai. We never expected anything to come of it." The hawk was quite sure he did not like the look in Sesshomaru's eyes.

"You are the one that broke her?"

"Oh, Kami." Kagome rested her head on her hand as she slapped her other hand down on Sesshomaru's arm. "Could you please use some of that legendary control? Please? My head is killing me, and if I faint you're coming with me."

"What do you want, Merkamou?"

"I have already told you what I want. I want the merlin."

"And what of Takashi and Sora? You are both committed."

"I will make amends with Sora's family, and Takashi already knows. The choice is up to the merlin."

"So you intend to court her, and she will choose between you and Takashi."

"Hai."

"What do you say, Rin?"

"I am all right with this, Sesshomaru-sama. I know I should not have woken him up in the middle of the night, but I needed to talk to him. I have not decided what I am going to do yet, but I would like for him to be allowed to court me."

There was a long moment of silence as Sesshomaru looked at Rin, then turned to look at Kagome. She held his eyes with her own dark blue ones, holding what seemed to be a silent conversation. Finally, he turned back to Merkamou and the hawk would have sworn he saw a sigh. "Very well. You may court her."

"Arigato, Sesshomaru-sama." Rin felt like she could breathe again.

"You do realize that Sora's family will not be pleased with this."

"I know. I will compensate them, and if they wish I will arrange another acceptable match." Merkamou was not about to let minor details derail him from his objective. Not after everything he had been through to get this far.

"It is your problem now. Not mine."

"If everyone is done behaving like idiots, I need my bed." Kagome still had her head propped up with her hand, her other hand on Sesshomaru's arm. 'I can't even imagine what it will be like when Mizuki is ready to find a mate of her own. The palace may not survive.'

"If these two are willing to behave in an honorable manner."

"What are you talking about, Sesshomaru?"

"Rin should not have been alone with him at that hour."

"Quit being a hypocrite."

"Nani?" Sesshomaru snapped his head around to look at his mate.

"When did we ever have a chaperone? Honestly. I'd only been here for a few days before you saw me naked."

Merkamou let out a snort as he tried to keep from laughing.

"I walked in on a bath. That is different."

"You certainly didn't look away. As I remember it, you were taking in all the sights. Or we can talk about you insisting we hold a conversation while you were in the baths. Naked."

Now the hawk was changing colors as he tried to stop the laughter that was building in his chest.

"We are retiring for the night." Sesshomaru pulled his miko to her feet.

Kagome tossed a grin over her shoulder as she let Sesshomaru lead her out. "Good night, you two."

Rin and Merkamou stared at each other in the dining hall. The hawk was choking the laughter back down as he processed the conversation. "Well, that was unexpected."

"I do not remember any of that from when Kagome arrived. But I probably would not have recognized it if I did see it. I remember finding her in Sesshomaru-sama's bed one morning, but I thought she had woken up from a nightmare. Oh, that is embarrassing now."

"I need to find a bed before I collapse. This has not been a restful night. Since my room is destroyed I will need to find a room in the guest wing."

"You could stay with me." Rin had been thinking that she still had the second bed that Mizuki used, but once it was out of her mouth she blushed.

"No one could refuse such an offer, my merlin."

"On the second bed, Merkamou."

"My hopes are crushed. However, it is still an offer I will accept."

"Okay. Umm, yes, then we should go?"

"Lead on."

Rin thought she would have a fit long before she reached her room. The fact that she arrived still breathing was rather surprising to her. Refusing to look at her guest, she lit a lamp so that she could move around. She was suddenly thankful for her large room, since it gave her a chance to keep on the other side of it and far away from the source of her anxiety. She set her katanas back on their rack, trying to look busy while Merkamou looked around.

"Some how I expected more weapons."

"I keep those in storage. I do not want to be tripping over them in the night. Only my katanas stay in here. I do not want anyone to bump them by accident and get shocked." Rin grabbed a blanket and tossed it on the second bed. "They reject everyone, even other ningens."

"Interesting. Do you intend to sleep with the lamp on?"

'Tempting. Somehow this seems safer with the light on. Sure, he is on the other side of the room, but still.' Rin tugged at her sash again. "No, I will turn it out after you are settled into bed. That bed."

Shrugging his shoulders, he moved away from her and towards the second bed. "As you wish."

'Yes, please, stay over there. I will not be held responsible for my behavior if he comes over here.' Once Merkamou was settled, Rin blew out her lamp and slipped out of her robe. The blankets went right up to her nose, hiding everything.

"Breathe, merlin."

Laughter helped Rin to remember to breathe. "Why is it that you must remind me of that so often, Merkamou?"

"I do not know. Am I that unsettling?"

"Your vanity knows no bounds."

"It is not vanity when it is the truth."

"You are supposed to be exhausted. Go to sleep."

"Hai, merlin. I will see you in the morning."

There was a little shiver through Rin's body at the thought of waking up and seeing him first thing in the morning. "Good night."

"Good night."

----

'I forgot about that. Ugh, if I lived with him I would never sleep again.' Rin sat up and glared at the snoring hawk. 'I will smother him if he does not stop that immediately!'

Tip toeing across the room, Rin nudged Merkamou on the shoulder. "Hey, you are making enough noise to wake the ancestors. Merkamou."

One gold eye cracked open. "What is it now, merlin?"

"You are snoring."

"No, I am not."

"Yes, you are. Roll over or something so I can sleep."

"Nonsense. I like to sleep on my back."

Glaring, Rin grabbed onto a shoulder and started to haul the hawk over. "I need to sleep even more then you do. Now stop being quarrelsome and roll over!"

Merkamou grabbed her and yanked her down next to him. "Only if you will keep me company."

"Ack! You are in no condition to be doing anything of that sort, Merkamou!"

"I said keep me company, I did not say that you would be doing anything. And you are correct, I am in no condition for activities of that nature, so you are safe."

The dark brown eyes found the shining gold ones in the dark. "If I stay here you will roll over so you will stop snoring?"

"We can certainly try." Rin was pulled under the blankets and tucked up against Merkamou's stomach. One arm wrapped around her waist while his other was under his head. "Acceptable, merlin?"

'This is a bad idea.' "Acceptable, Merkamou."


	59. A Gift

A/N: AN.AN.AN., good comments across the board. Let's give Rin a chance to redeem herself. That's the problem with posting a chapter at a time, I know it's going to get tied up or explained away, but no one else does. Rin was being a bit stupid, yes, but she is getting awfully used to running around at night. It was good for her to have Takashi tell her off. And she even talked to herself about it "What kind of a lady have I become? Isamu would be downright proud of me, accosting my intended in the middle of the night." Mr. J, Sesshy's been dealing with that racket the whole time Merkamou's been there. He's getting pretty good at ignoring it. Now the question is if he will figure out that he is now making all that noise in Rin's room. Chrissy-Wolf, quit making me blush. The husband is asking questions. :-) Nilee, so so so tempting. You have no idea.

For anyone who is curious, yes I am winding this up rapidly. Trilogy? Thinking about it. I haven't made up my mind on the matter. Choices, choices. Any opinions? I was thinking about doing Mizuki and Katsuro. Anyways, I don't own anything that is worth money.

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'Where am I?' Rin blinked as she stared at the wall. The first rays of the sun were showing over the horizon, making her room various shades of gray. 'That is not the right wall. And what is behind me? Oh no.'

Cautiously, she sat up and turned to look behind her. Merkamou was still sound asleep, looking quite peaceful with his red hair pooled around his head. 'Holy Kami, I thought I was dreaming!'

Slipping out of bed, Rin studied her guest. She could see the edge of a bandage from under the blanket, confirming that the previous night had not been a dream at all. 'Not that I mind. It is actually quite nice to wake up with him. Last time I fell asleep with him I woke up in my own bed without him.'

Memories sent her scurrying for her clothes. 'What was I thinking? He should not be in here! I am just too damn comfortable with him. And I did not want him so far away. He can sleep in, but I am going to act like nothing has happened.'

Behind a screen Rin slipped into her normal clothing and made a bee line for the door. 'It will not be so scandalous if I am not here.' She rapped on Mizuki's door as she went by before remembering that her sister was not in there. The door to Merkamou's room looked perfectly normal, but inside the room was destroyed. She went through the wall, looking at the damage left from the fight. The grass had been burned away and deep gouges ran through the dirt. The wall had a hole about twenty feet across in it, and there was damage from the fire. 'I am glad I could not see this in the dark.'

"Impressive, huh?"

Kagome was leaning on the remains of the wall, watching Rin.

"I was thinking frightening."

"Perhaps you and that trouble maker will think before you piss Sesshomaru off that much again. I don't like having him with a huge hole through his middle, thank you very much."

Rin hung her head and looked at the scorched ground. "Gomen, Kagome-chan. I never, ever wanted Sesshomaru-sama to get hurt. It just happened so fast."

"Next time at least wait until morning. I know you don't like to stay inside, but don't go waking others. Especially single males who are in love with you. For pity's sake, what were you thinking?"

"I wanted to talk to him. I forget sometimes that he is not just a friend."

Kagome sighed and walked over to her friend. "I know, Rin-chan. No real harm done, but let's not do anymore of this late night wandering stuff, okay? Everyone got off light this time. What if I had lost to Sesshomaru?"

A tremor went through the younger woman's body at the image of Kagome turning on Merkamou. It would have been over in the blink of an eye. "I will be good, Kagome-chan."

"This is the first time I have had to talk to you like this in a long time. I guess you were due to misbehave. It doesn't help that you have a very protective inu-youkai running around." Taking Rin's arm, the miko steered her back into the palace. "Everything is out in the open now, so you don't need to be sneaky. I am still tempted to smack Merkamou, starting a fight with you in the middle of the night. Let's get some breakfast and pretend like nothing has happened. Sesshomaru is still asleep, and I bet Merkamou is too."

"Hai."

"How did he end up in your room?"

Rin went white. "His room was destroyed, and I had a second bed. He stayed in the second bed all night, I promise."

Kagome gave her a look. "Of course he did, Rin-chan."

"I will think of something to say to Sesshomaru-sama, Kagome-chan. Are you mad at me?"

"Now? No. I'm just a bit annoyed. Last night? Last night I was furious. The one I love tried to destroy his own home, attacked his closest ally, and got seriously hurt. In front of his daughter. Mizuki got to see her father get into a very nasty fight, and is rather upset by this little souvenir." Kagome pushed her sleeve up to show a bandage. "She was not happy to see her father hurt her mother. Or her father taking a swing at her big sister."

"I did not know. I was just fighting with Merkamou, and then Sesshomaru-sama showed up."

"I know. That's why I'm not mad at you now. It went out of control, and that's not your fault. But remember what you're dealing with. I never forget what Sesshomaru is, and don't for a second think that because Merkamou is friendly and charming that he is not capable of the same destruction as Sesshomaru."

"I saw what Sesshomaru-sama did last night when you grabbed him. Were you scared?"

"I was scared that I was going to turn on Merkamou, or that he might break my arm without meaning to. I wasn't worried that he would kill me or anything. He would never do that, but it would still hurt to have my arm snapped."

"And you are saying that Merkamou could do the same thing if he was mad enough."

"Hai, and you will not be able to influence him the way I can with Sesshomaru."

Rin rubbed at the bridge of her nose. "He would not kill me. Never."

"I know." Kagome draped her arm over Rin's shoulders while they walked. It was a bit of a stretch, since Rin was taller then her now, but she made it work. "Now, food before we have anymore serious ideas. Lots and lots of food. I miss chocolate."

"Chocolate?"

"Never mind. We can have a nice quiet breakfast while we let our two favorite taiyoukai sleep in."

Voices were echoing down the hall, and Rin recognized one of them. "Oh, no. I forgot about Takashi!" She grabbed Kagome and hustled her into another room. "What do I do?"

"What do you mean? Last night you were talking about choosing between them."

"I was still mad at Merkamou! He tells me that it is impossible over and over again, and then he just suddenly announces that I can be his mate. And he just assumed that I would drop Takashi. After he took so long to make up his mind to fight for this I did not want to just do as he said. I was not serious, but I could not let Merkamou know that! I do not want him to think that I will be a nice little female and just do anything he wants, he is cocky enough as it is. . ."

"Rin, stop. Kami, save me from teenagers and their form of logic." Kagome rested her head against the wall. "What do you want to do?"

"I do not know. I cannot face him."

"You will have to talk to him eventually, and someone needs to have breakfast with him."

"Merkamou could do it."

"So you want to go hide instead of having breakfast?"

"Can we?"

"We'll get Merkamou and make him get up. He caused the situation, he can deal with it. We can have breakfast in your room after we throw the hawk out."

"Arigato, Kagome-chan."

----

'After warning Takashi about this family, I should have paid attention to it for myself.' Merkamou downed another cup of strong tea and tried to ignore the burning sensation across his back. 'Waking up to Rin and Kagome standing over me, and Kagome poking me with her foot, was not how I wanted to start my day.'

Kagome-sama had been in rare form. "Up. You have to go to breakfast."

"Why?" Rubbing his eyes, Merkamou had looked up at her rather sadistic expression.

"You need to keep Takashi company. Now up."

"As you command." He had not been interested in having Kagome toss him about, so he had gotten up and found his kimono. The miko's expression when she noticed his state of undress had made the morning much more agreeable.

Kagome had leaned over to Rin and hissed in her ear. "Wow, Rin-chan."

"Kagome-chan!"

"I'm bonded, not blind."

Merkamou's mood had improved quite a bit after over hearing their little exchange. Even having to get up bright and early to entertain Takashi was not such a horrible thought anymore.

His cousin was watching him with a slightly amused expression. Of course he had heard about last night's fight with Sesshomaru, the entire palace was a buzz with the rumors. No one was quite sure what the fight was about, but there were plenty of theories. Takashi had his own theories, but he was willing to wait and see what Merkamou had to say about it.

"I am glad that you find my injuries so amusing, Takashi." Merkamou tried to glare, but his mood was too bright.

"Perhaps you will enlighten me as to what you did to earn yourself this kind of a beating."

"It was a simple misunderstanding gone horribly awry."

"A misunderstanding." Takashi looked him up and down. "You were nearly killed over a misunderstanding."

"I was not nearly killed, just seriously wounded." Seeing that his cousin was not buying this, Merkamou set his tea down to concentrate on his glare. "Fine, nearly killed. Whenever the merlin is involved Sesshomaru-sama is rather intense."

"So she was involved. That rumor is true then."

"Technically, she caused the whole event. If she would have stayed in her room then I would not be in this condition."

"So she visited with you as well last night?"

"Nani?" Positive that he had just misheard his cousin, Merkamou tipped his head slightly and stared. "She visited you?"

"She wanted to wish me a good night. I was quite flustered to have her at my window in the middle of the night. Rather unseemly behavior."

Merkamou's shoulders shook as he tried to not laugh. "Unorthodox. I am sure she meant no harm, and genuinely just wanted to wish you a good night."

"I do not know what to make of such impulsive behavior. It is unnerving."

"That is nothing. Wait until you see some of the blows she prefers to use in battle. You have already seen her with that dragon of hers. I swear they all share one mind when they are working together."

"You seem perfectly delighted with her unusual ways."

"That I am." The gold eyes unfocused as he thought of a certain ningen throwing herself in front of Sesshomaru to save a certain taiyoukai.

"A good leader knows when a battle is lost."

"Nani?"

Takashi was smiling just a bit as he watched his cousin. "I consider myself to be a good leader, and I can see that this is a losing battle. The merlin may be honored to be with me, but she belongs with you. I would not know what to do with her, but you would be right at her side."

'This makes things considerably less awkward.' "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"I have no interest in facing Sesshomaru-sama for any female."

Merkamou's eyebrows disappeared into his bangs before his laughter filled the room. "You have an excellent point, cousin. I would rather not have to deal with that particular test ever again. And you have not had to face Kagome-sama yet."

"Kagome-sama? She seems to be very nice. A bit odd, perhaps, but friendly."

The laughter continued. "Honestly? Kagome-sama frightens me more then Sesshomaru-sama. I have been on the receiving end of one of her attacks, and it is not something you can truly fight against. And her temper."

"A losing battle, for certain. Do you think that Sesshomaru-sama will be upset by my withdrawal?"

"No. Most will think that you have good sense to run while you can."

"And yet you are happier then I have ever seen you."

There was a goofy grin on the hawk's face as he realized that this obstacle had also been cleared away. "Hai."

"Then I will wish you all happiness and many sons."

The grin was not going anywhere as Merkamou thought about raising a brood of his own with Rin. "You are young yet, Takashi. We can find someone a bit more orthodox for you."

"I am in no hurry. Rin-san is a lovely, fascinating female that would have made a powerful mate. However, a force that powerful will need a very strong anchor."

"It will be a very exciting ride."

----

"Po!"

"He is going to be quite the talker, Kagome-sama." Merkamou watched as Shippo played with Katsuro, using his kitsune tricks to make things appear and disappear.

"I'm afraid of that. He's crawling all over the place, and yelling out names for people. I can only imagine what it's going to be like a year from now." Kagome looked up from her work, watching the two boys with adoring eyes. "I've missed Shippo so much, and he's been so good with Katsuro."

"I never had a brother, Kagome. It's kind of fun to be the big one." Shippo made an acorn pop into existence right in front of Katsuro, making the pup giggle and clap his hands.

"It is about time you were bigger then someone."

"Kagome, make Rin stop picking on me!"

"I'm going to throw the whole lot of you out if you don't quiet down. Rin, leave Shippo alone. I don't know why you two can't be in the same room together. Kumo and I are trying to get some work done!" Kagome scowled at the notes in front of her, trying to concentrate in the midst of the chaos. "Why is everyone hanging out in my study while I'm actually trying to get something done?"

"This is where I always work with Rin, Mama." Mizuki looked offended. "And I am not bothering anyone."

"I know, jo-chan. I didn't mean you."

Rin looked up from her own reading. "I am here to help Mizuki."

"Of course, I know you need to be in here."

"The merlin is here, so I am here." Merkamou was leaning against the wall, enjoying the show.

"It's probably for the best that I can keep an eye on you."

"I'm keeping Katsuro company." Shippo caught Katsuro before he could climb under Kagome's desk.

"And Katsuro is in here with me. Okay, okay."

"My desk is here." Kagome's assistant did not even glance up from her own work.

"Kumo, you don't have to explain yourself. You most definitely belong here. Fine, you can all stay in here, but keep it down!"

A servant bowed in the doorway. "There is a visitor here for you, Merkamou-sama."

"Wonderful, it is here." Merkamou climbed to his feet and ignored the room full of confused looks.

"What is here, Merkamou?" Rin watched the hawk closely.

"A little something I picked up a couple of weeks ago for the lovely Lady Mizuki." He swept an extravagant bow to the silver haired pup.

"For me? What is it?" Mizuki had not said a word to Merkamou since the previous night, and had been avoiding looking at him. Even now she was looking at the desk and not him.

"Come and see."

Merkamou led the group out to the courtyard, where a small haggle of guards were standing in a circle around someone. Grinning, he pushed his way through. "I was starting to get worried that you would not make it."

"It was a rougher journey then planned, but we are both here and safe."

Mizuki slid to a halt next to Merkamou, her eyes huge and her ears shaking with excitement. "Is that for me?"

"Have you lost your mind?" Kagome stopped on the other side with Katsuro and Shippo, staring at Merkamou's present.

"Sugoi, Merkamou-sama! Where did you find that?" Shippo tried to dart forward, but was stopped by Kagome. "Oh, Kagome."

"She will need a mount of her own, and this one is the perfect age to grow with her. He is just a few months old." The hawk took the beast's lead from his servant. "I saw him and just knew where he belonged."

"That is a dragon." Rin stopped next to Kagome, staring at the creature.

It came to about Merkamou's waist at the head, and was a long, serpentine shape covered in deep blue scales. There were two dark blue horns, and a shaggy mane of silver hair. The eyes were a rather eerie shade of silver, rather like mother of pear, but they gave Rin the impression of an eager puppy. The dragon was trying to wind itself around Merkamou's leg and getting the taiyoukai caught up in the lead that was attached to his halter.

"He is gorgeous." Mizuki walked right up to the creature, which was only a few inches shorter then she was. She held out her hand for inspection, and was delighted when the dragon abandoned Merkamou to look her over from head to toe. Whatever he found he liked, as he proceeded to wrap around her and rub his head on her shoulder.

"I'm not sure about this." Kagome was not at all happy to see this dragon wrapping around her daughter, despite Mizuki's giggles. Katsuro was reaching out, giggling with his sister.

"Kagome-sama, did you really believe that all dragons just appear as fully trained adults? This is the best way to train him, when he is very young and will become attached to Mizuki." Merkamou plucked Mizuki out of the middle of the dragon and set her next to Kagome, despite the dragon's protests.

"She is too young to have a pet dragon! I wasn't allowed to have a dog at her age, much less something that is going to get very big and hungry!" The miko grabbed onto her daughter before she could escape again, but that meant that Shippo was free.

"You should keep him, Kagome." The kit began scratching along the dragon's back, making it twist about and make happy rumbling noises.

"He is really cute." Rin scratched the little dragon under his chin. "You like Ah-Un, Kagome-chan."

"Ah-Un is safe."

"Please, Mama, at least ask father about this."

'And why does she want me to ask Sesshomaru? Is she that sure he'll say yes?' Kagome stared at her daughter. "Fine, I'll ask him. Merkamou, you and that dragon stay here. Mizuki, no touching until I get back."

"Hai, Mama."

'I swear, one of these days I am going to throw him so far he is going to be limping for a week.' Growling to herself, Kagome stomped to Sesshomaru's study. The only way anyone could tell he was injured was a shorter temper then usual. Other then that there was no way to tell that the inu-youkai was regenerating a large part of his torso.

"What is it?"

Despite her mood, Kagome could not help but smile at the impulsive hawk's latest stunt. "You have got to see what Merkamou got for Mizuki."

"Do I need to kill him?"

"I don't think so, at least not yet. Come and take a look at this."

The circle of guards in the courtyard disappeared like magic when their lord appeared. This left the dragon in clear sight. The amber eyes narrowed as he moved in closer to examine the newcomer. "This is the gift?"

"Hai. She is too young, Sesshomaru." Kagome gave Merkamou another glare.

"It seems tame enough." The dragon was straining at its halter, looking at the little pup that was peeking at him from next to her sister.

"She can't train a dragon!"

"I can." The dragon gazed back with those unusual eyes as Sesshomaru inspected him. "She does need a mount of her own, even though this one will not be large enough to ride for many years yet."

There was a puff of smoke and the dragon was now much smaller, and loose. There was a quick scramble before the hawk caught it. "I forgot about that trick. He is not very good at it yet, but he will be able to change sizes at will when he is older." The now tiny dragon wound itself around Merkamou's arm.

"You are all insane." Kagome threw one hand in the air with frustration. Katsuro imitated her with a giggle, getting an exasperated look from his mother.

"Can I keep him, father?" The ears were shaking again as Mizuki stared at her father.

"Hai."

"Arigato, arigato, arigato!" Mizuki grabbed Sesshomaru around the middle in a hug before realizing what she was doing. Pulling herself back together, she bowed to Merkamou. "It is an amazing gift, and I am thankful beyond words."

"Enjoy, Lady Mizuki." Merkamou handed the dragon to Mizuki. Her new pet promptly changed sizes again and tackled his new mistress. Rin waded in to untangle the mess and try to put the halter back on, even though she knew it was pointless. With any luck the dragon would be too tired to try that trick again.

"If I did not know that this had been arranged before your arrival, I would suspect you of attempting to buy approval." Sesshomaru stood next to Merkamou, watching as his daughter got to know her future partner.

"Your pup is happiest in the air, and when I saw that dragon I knew he was meant for her. He was so very tame, but I have no doubt that those teeth are not just for show."

The two lords looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes. "If you ever hurt her, Merkamou, I will kill you very slowly."

Merkamou did not need to ask who 'she' was. "Understood, Sesshomaru."

"Very well." Without another word, the inu-youkai went back to his study, snagging the still unhappy Kagome and his youngest as he went.

'Rin will be delighted to know he approves.' Merkamou looked back to Mizuki and his intended to find them both hopelessly tangled. Rin was still on her feet despite being twisted up, but the pup was down and giggling hysterically as the dragon playfully pounced on her. Shippo was trying to help, but only managing to get knocked over. 'I may end up regretting this present when Kagome takes her annoyance at the added chaos out on me. Small price to pay for that laughter.'

"We could use some help here, Merkamou!"

"Of course, merlin." Life was certainly looking up to the hawk. "Mizuki-sama, stop encouraging him for a moment and let me get the merlin untangled."

As soon as Rin had the halter on the dragon, he changed back to his small size and wrapped himself about Mizuki's arm. "Oh, leave him, Rin-neechan. I do not think he is going anywhere."

"It is completely pointless to try and keep him restrained. Good luck with that one, Mizuki-chan. I think you are going to need it."

"You!"

All eyes swung to the loud voice from the entrance to the courtyard. Kagome and Sesshomaru stopped at the door, turning back at the yell. Out of habit Rin shoved Mizuki behind her, eyeballing the small group of males that had appeared. She could hear a strange sound, and saw that the little dragon was glaring at the intruders and hissing loudly.

"Merkamou-sama, explain yourself! Everyone is saying that you fought with Sesshomaru-sama last night and that you are intending to take a ningen as a mate!" The group of males marched in to glare at the hawk.

Rin recognized their clothing now. 'Sora's family. This will not go well.'

Kagome was stomping back over with Sesshomaru trailing behind her. "And what are you planning to do, coming into my home armed to the teeth?"

"We did not finish negotiations." Merkamou stepped away from Rin and the little ones she was protecting. "I am free to change my mind. I will compensate your family for the trouble, of course. I have several male relatives that would be honored to have Sora-sama."

"You chose a ningen over my daughter?" The lead male's hand went to his hilt. "I cannot accept that!"

Rin's hands went to her own hilts, glaring at the group. "I do not think you want to do that."

"Truly? And who is going to stop me, ningen?"

Now it was the hawk's hand that went for a weapon. "Do you intend to fight me over this?"

Sesshomaru's hand had also gone for a weapon, and Kagome had seen enough. "I quit! I don't care what you do to this group anymore. Mizuki, Shippo, you are coming with me. If these guys want to pummel each other, I'm fine with that. If fools want to come in here waving weapons around and yelling, they deserve what they get. It is not my job to save every baka that does something stupid near my mate. I saved one fool last night, and I am done. Have fun, Sesshomaru." She herded Mizuki and Shippo out in front of her and left the armed adults to their own devices.

'And she is serious. Interesting.' Sesshomaru spared a glance for the departing miko before refocusing on the group that had intruded.

Realizing that they were now facing, the group paled and lost their bravado. Amused, Sesshomaru drew Tokijin. Rin also drew her katanas and moved next to Merkamou, rather delighted when they flinched away from her as well. 'It is about time someone recognized me as a threat.'

"Perhaps we were too hasty." The ring leader was backing away now. "If Merkamou-sama is willing to give us fair compensation, then I can have no complaints."

'Nothing but hot air and bluster. What a disappointment.' Rin fought the urge to sigh as the group continued to retreat.

"We will discuss details later." Merkamou alone had not drawn a weapon, seeing no need to. As if any of them could get past Rin, and she was right next to him.

Bowing, the group backed away. A whispered comment caught the attention of both taiyoukai, setting their tempers on edge again.

"That female was the ningen whore he chose."

Seeing the tension and listening expression, Rin put the clues together. She slipped her katanas into their sheaths to replace them with a dagger and whispered to Merkamou. "Which one?"

"Second from the left."

There was a flash of steel, and the dagger buried itself in the chest of one of the inu-youkai. There was a stampede as they fled, trying to get out of range.

"They did not pull out my dagger! I wanted that back." Rin glared after the retreating figures. "You owe me a new dagger, Merkamou."

"We could just go and get yours." The hawk smiled as he looked out the entrance the group had fled through.

"No, I think you should get a new one for me." Smiling to herself, Rin turned and strolled towards the palace. "I do not think Mizuki should be the only one receiving gifts."

Merkamou glanced over to Sesshomaru with a rather trapped expression.

"It was your choice."

----


	60. Happy Endings

A/N: Ch. 60. Wow. I think I have two chapters after this one left. I don't even have an outline completed for the next story, so there will be a significant break before I start up again. I won't start until I'm sure where I'm going and that I'll be able to get there. I do keep a pretty crazy updating schedule, after all. The working title is Fire and Ice, but we'll see if that changes.

Yes, Chrissy-wolf, I have a brother. But he's engaged to a very possessive, tall young lady. I do have a sister that's single, though :-) EyeofDlarme, you made me blush. Nilee, forever? Oh dear. Thyme-cat does have a good point, that I could write all the way to Kagome's time. Sesshy meets the family, and Mama gets to meet her grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and maybe even some great great grandchildren. And, oh yeah, Kagome's now over 500 years old. That would be fun. Shatter the sky, I doubt Inu is going to come back. I considered it in NL to L, but decided against it. I never said that he went to hell, but he walked away with Kikyou and Kagome hasn't seen him since. Maybe he chose not to, who knows. Having him come back now would be a huge mess, since Kags doesn't have a choice and Sesshy is already jealous of the memory. I think Inu would be turned into a pile of goo, and if Sesshy managed to overwhelm Kags she might even help him do it. I can't write angst well enough to pull that off.

Oh, lemony content warning! I tried to keep it vague enough to keep happy, but we shall see if it gets pulled. BlackXheart, some high sugar content in the middle, keep the barf bag handy. And I own nada!

----

"Shou!" Mizuki grabbed the dragon before he could take off. "Stay still, or Mama will tell me to take you to the stable. You do not want that, do you?"

The little dragon wound around her arm again and settled down.

"Good, Shou."

"I wish Ah-Un could do that." Rin set her reading down to watch her sister and the new pet. "It would be nice to be able to take him inside."

"One dragon in the palace is more then enough." Kagome folded up a message and sealed it. "Where did Merkamou say they were going?"

"He said that they were going to go outside and try to burn off some excess energy."

"Who's energy? Shippo's, Katsuro's, or Merkamou's?"

"Probably all three."

"He better get back in time to deal with Sora's family. I can't believe they came in here looking for a fight. It's a good thing Sesshomaru is not in the mood right now."

"Mama?" Mizuki quit playing with Shou and focused on her mother.

"Hai, Mizuki-chan?"

"Am I required to have a mate when I am an adult?"

Kagome blinked for a moment before coming up with an answer. "No, you're not _required_ to have one. Why?"

"It seems like a bad idea. I would rather not have one."

Rin and Kagome both stared at the pup. The miko recovered first. "That has to be Sesshomaru's blood talking, because that did not come from me."

"Mizuki-chan, why do you think it is a bad idea?"

"Well, there was the whole fight where father tried to destroy the palace. And all of the whispering and tension. It all seems very silly."

Kagome clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing and let Rin field this one. "One day you will meet someone and it will not seem silly anymore."

"Must I?"

"Oh, I can see that this one is not going to be a hopeless romantic." The miko was wiping tears away from her eyes. "You know, it's always the ones who protest the most who fall the hardest."

"Perhaps father will arrange a partnership for me. Then there will be no need for the silly part."

The two adult women blinked at each other. This time Rin let the pup's mother try. "Wait, Mizuki-chan. You're much too young to worry about it now. When you're older it will look different."

Mizuki turned back to her reading. "I still think I would prefer an arranged partnership."

"She has a point, Kagome-chan." Rin studied the ceiling. "There is a lot of silliness involved. And very stupid choices are made when the heart is in charge, and not the mind."

"Stop that, Rin-chan. You're not supposed to be encouraging her. Do you want her to miss out on what you have? I want my daughter to fall in love. I don't want her to be shipped off to live with some stranger like a sack of rice." Kagome waved at Mizuki to stop her protest. "Unless of course she really, really wants to be hauled away like a sack of rice."

Rolling her eyes, Mizuki kept to her reading. "Honestly, Mama. I would not be a sack of rice. I would be much more demanding."

Kagome snorted at the familiar tone of Mizuki's voice. "I know where that sense of humor came from, anyways."

The sapphire eyes met the cobalt ones, and the smirk was all her father. "I do not know what you are talking about, Mama."

"Rin-chan, would you please?"

"Of course, Kagome-chan." Rin tackled Mizuki and put her in a headlock. "You are going outside, pup. The sun will not kill you, and your book will be waiting."

"Rin-neechan! Let me go!" The pup squirmed and fought as her sister dragged her out. Shou scurried up onto Rin's shoulder where it was safe and watched the wrestling with great interest.

Kumo watched as the struggle moved out into the corridor, then returned to her lists. "It will be very strange when Rin-sama leaves."

"Nani?" Kagome froze in the middle of dipping a brush in ink.

"When she leaves. Unless I am very much mistaken she will be leaving for the Southern Lands soon."

"I forgot about that." The miko sat and stared at the blank paper in front of her.

She did not move for some time.

----

"What are you doing, Rin-chan?"

Kagome came up behind the exterminator, who was looking out the window with a longing expression.

"I am watching Merkamou."

"And what is he doing?" The miko could just barely make out the silhouette of the hawk lord in the branches of a tree, looking up at the sky.

"Nothing. If I know him, he is looking for shooting stars." Rin rested her head against the side of the window.

"Shooting stars? That's so cute. So why are you in here looking all depressed?"

"For one, I am not supposed to go wandering around at night."

Rolled eyes. "I meant late at night when everyone else is in bed, not just after sunset."

"I am nervous."

"Why?"

Rin shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I do not know. It is just different now. This whole thing used to be impossible, and it has changed so fast."

"If you don't go out there and grab your happy ending I am going to have a temper tantrum."

"Nani?"

Kagome grabbed Rin by the arm and hauled her towards the door. "Get out there and grab him. Whack him over the head, I don't care, but this is your happy ending! No fair getting cold feet now."

"Hai. I will. I will go and get my happy ending. Kagome-chan, I get my happy ending!" Rin grabbed Kagome in a tight hug. "I get Merkamou!"

"Hai, Rin-chan. Now quit trying to break my ribs and grab him!"

"Okay." There was a rapid staccato of foot steps as Rin ran down the rest of the corridor and out the door.

Kagome returned to the window, watching as Rin ran across the grass. "You deserve it, Rin-chan. More then anyone I know."

----

The moon was over half full and hanging low in the sky. It lit Sesshomaru's grounds brilliantly to the hawk's eyes. The fireflies were out, winding through the flowers that Rin adored. 'She will want to overhaul the gardens, I am sure. The groundskeeper will be thrilled.'

A bright smile appeared as Merkamou stared over the peaceful scene. The path was clear. Sora's family had been easy enough to buy off, and now all he had to do was convince Rin. Hopefully he would be able to arrange that part.

A figure ran across the grass, and he already knew who it was. No one else wore clothing cut like that, or moved like that. He watched as she came to a stop underneath him, smiling up at him.

"Would you care for some company, Merkamou?"

"Of course, merlin."

Rin jumped up to reach the bottom branch, pulling herself up so that she could reach for the next one. Once she was close enough, Merkamou reached down to offer her a hand up. She grabbed onto his wrist and let him pull her the rest of the way up, landing in front of him on the branch. "What are you doing out here, trouble maker?"

"I was watching the stars. Not many shooting stars this time of year, but it is a brilliant night and many of my favorites are out tonight."

Turning so that her back was pressed to his chest, Rin looked out at the night sky. "It is beautiful." There was a long silence while Rin savored the feeling of just being with him. "How did your meeting with Sora's family go?"

"It was not a comfortable meeting, to be certain, but it is over with. Oh, and they brought this for you." Merkamou handed Rin her dagger.

"Oh well. I was rather hoping to get a present out of this. How sad, to be jealous of my little sister."

"I do have something for you, if you are interested."

"Really?" Rin turned around so fast she almost fell out of the tree. "You did get me a dagger?"

'Of course she thinks I got her a dagger. Any other female would want jewels, but not her.' Merkamou laughed and set a hand on her waist to steady her. "No, not a dagger. Are you still interested?"

"Is it pretty?"

"That is something that seems to be more the domain of females, but I think it would be considered pretty."

"Is it big?"

"Do you want me to show you or not, merlin? We can guess all night, if you would prefer."

"Can you please show it to me, Merkamou?"

Like a magician, the hawk suddenly had something in his hand. He let it drop to hang from one finger, winking in the moonlight.

Rin stopped breathing. It was similar to Kagome's pendant, but with Merkamou's family crest and accented with rubies. The pendant was a little bit shorter then her thumb, and hung from a gold chain. 'I know what that is. Sesshomaru-sama gave one to Kagome-chan, and she never takes hers off.'

There was a husky whisper. "Breathe, merlin."

She sucked in a lungful of air. "Arigato."

"Do you like it?"

A trembling hand reached out to touch the pendant, running a finger over the glittering stones. "It is gorgeous."

"I had it made before the battle with Ryuutaisho, but I did not think I would ever get a chance to give it to you."

Rin's fingers slid up the chain, savoring the smooth feel of the tiny links. "Then why did you have it made?"

"Just in case one of my wishes actually worked."

A tear fell from Rin's cheek, startling her. Fingers brushed across her face came away damp, which confused her. 'Crying? Why am I crying?'

A strong hand brushed the remains of her tear away. "Do you want your gift, merlin?"

"Of course I do."

"Do you want me, my merlin?

"Of course I do."

There was a faint catch to Merkamou's breathing as he slipped the necklace on, letting the weight settle against her chest. Rin trailed her fingers over it, still trying to make her brain accept the fact that this was real. Her eyes found the gold ones that were staring at her with so many emotions that it was impossible to name them all. She leaned forward those last few inches and found his lips. His arms wrapped around her as her arms slipped around his neck.

The precarious position they were in brought them out of their haze. "We should pay attention to staying on our feet, I think."

Rin giggled, turning in his arms to press her back to him again. "You are still recovering from your last battle, the last thing you need is to fall out of a tree."

"I do not want to think about my injuries right now. My back still feels like it is on fire."

"I got a firm tongue lashing from Kagome-chan about that incident."

"There is no reason to sneak around anymore. You are the Lady of the South, whether they want it or not."

"I am not worried about Sesshomaru-sama, but I do not know about the rest. This will be worse then when Sesshomaru-sama chose Kagome-chan. She is a powerful miko, and I . . . "

"You are the Lady of the South, merlin."

"It will be us against the rest of Japan."

"Hai. Shall we give them a chance to surrender?"

Rin pulled his arm tighter around her. "No."

Chuckling, Merkamou brushed his cheek against her hair. "That is what I thought you would say."

"Now what happens?"

"I want you to come with me to the south. I want you to see my lands and my home. Have you ever watched the sun rise over the ocean? It will take your breath away."

"I have never seen the sun rise over the ocean before. And now I will see it everyday."

There was silence as Merkamou thought of all the amazing things he would be able to show Rin. The ocean, the mountains, a particular valley that was such a deep green that it did not seem real.

"Which ones are your favorites?"

"Nani?"

Rin gestured up at the sky. "When I came out you said that many of your favorites were out tonight. Which ones are they?"

"This could take awhile, merlin."

"I have nowhere else I wish to be."

----

"You are spying, koishii."

"Shh!" Kagome grabbed Sesshomaru and pushed him against the wall while she hissed at him. "They will hear you!"

"And what are they doing?"

"I think Merkamou is showing Rin constellations."

"And this is interesting?" Sesshomaru stared at the little miko who was focused on the couple outside.

"Now, I'm not positive, but I think I saw Merkamou give Rin a necklace."

"Hn." Sesshomaru slipped an arm around Kagome's waist. 'That is not a surprise. It is actually something of a relief after this much trouble.'

"I love happy endings." Kagome leaned against her inu-youkai with a contented sigh.

"And she will leave with him."

"It was going to happen eventually. At least this way she is leaving with someone she loves and who loves her back."

Surprisingly gentle fingers trailed through her hair, making her eyes slide shut. "She would not accept less."

"Hai." The cobalt eyes opened, looking all the way up to find his amber ones. "I guess this means that we don't have to chaperone them anymore, huh?"

"What point would there be in chaperoning them? They have already slept in the same room."

"You knew about that?"

"Hai. Only if she slept next to him all night could she smell that strongly of him."

"And you didn't kill him?"

"He did nothing more then sleep beside her. Someone told me to stop being a hypocrite."

"And you were listening?"

That earned Kagome a raised eyebrow. She turned in his arms to face him. "I think you approve of him."

"I never said otherwise."

"I will never, ever understand taiyoukai. No matter how long I am with you, I will never understand you."

"The feeling is mutual, koishii. But we have many centuries to see if you are correct."

Kagome melted into his chest, listening to his heart beat. "Hai."

Sesshomaru leaned down to press a slow, lingering kiss against her lips. "Are you done spying?"

"Hai."

"Your pups are looking for you."

"Let's go find them before Mizuki lets that dragon escape."

----

"Are you sure Sesshomaru-sama is not going to come in here and kill you?"

Merkamou laughed as Rin paced around her room. "With his nose I would be surprised if he did not already know I was in here last night."

"If you say so." Rin continued to fidget and pace. "This is still weird."

The hawk caught her around the waist as she went by, pulling her to rest against him. "Stop that."

"After all this time of sneaking about you just expect me to stop being nervous?"

"Hai." Merkamou picked her up and walked over to her bed.

"What are you doing?"

"I am going to bed, and you are coming with me."

Rin blushed scarlet. "My bed?"

"It is larger then the other one. I think you will have an easier time sleeping if there is actually room for both of us. Not that I minded having you pressed so close to me."

'Holy Kami.' Her brain was spinning about in circles again, trying to catch up with the last two days. Merkamou set Rin down on her bed, and settled next to her. His lips were on her again as his arms pulled her close. Shivers ran through her body and she pressed against him, feeling the heat of his body through the layers of silk.

Oxygen forced her to break away, pulling in lungs full of air as he let his mouth slip down her neck, trailing heat down to her shoulder. Strong fingers were tugging at her sash, and Rin was relieved that her katanas were already sitting on their rack. Her top kimono was pushed off of her shoulders, leaving only one thin layer of silk between her and the hawk. His fingers felt hot enough to burn as they trailed over her heated skin.

Not one to be left behind in anything, Rin tugged at his sash, pulling his kimonos open to reveal his chest. Pushing him back, she ran her own mouth over him, listening to the change in his breathing as her hands and mouth trailed over his skin. She dragged her nails down his sides, making his body tense at the unexpected sensation.

A quick move set Rin on her back with Merkamou over top of her. He pulled her second kimono open, ripping the thin silk in his haste. Hot breath fanned across her skin as the hawk trailed kisses over her stomach. When his mouth found a peak she had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. Her body arched up of its own accord, her free hand pushing his head closer.

A ripping sound made Rin jump as her taiyoukai ripped through the top of her hakama. The remains were pushed away, leaving her completely exposed. Pushing hard on his shoulders, she pushed him off of her so that she could pull his hakama loose, sliding her hands over him as the silk slipped away. As she trailed her fingertips over him she could see a hint of red in his eyes. She slid her fingers over him faster, curious as to how far she could push him.

Not very far, it turned out. Merkamou caught her wrists, holding them in one hand as he kissed her again. Challenge blazed in Rin's eyes as she was caught, different scenarios running through her head. She could not use any of her less honorable blows, since that would ruin the plans for the night, but she had no intention of letting him push her around. She twisted her wrist in a move the Captain had taught her, getting her hands free. She slid back across the blankets, laughing at the expression on his face.

Pouncing, Merkamou tried to catch Rin but she slipped away and slammed onto his back. One of his arms was caught and pulled up behind him as she pinned him. "Do you yield?"

'How the hell did that happen?' Escape was not the first thought in Merkamou's mind as he felt his new mate's naked form pressed down on top of him. "Last time I checked we were not sparring, merlin."

"I will take that for a no." Giggling, Rin used her free hand to push his hair out of the way, exposing the nape of his neck. She kissed and nipped at the sensitive skin, delighting in the way his body reacted to her attentions. "Whenever you are ready to surrender please let me know."

'Evil.' Short of tossing her off of the bed, which would probably make her mad and ruin his night, there was nothing he could do but wait for her to release him. He could feel her body sliding over his as she moved down to press kisses and nips across his shoulder blades. 'Absolutely evil.'

To his complete surprise, Rin was not paying attention to holding him anymore. She was too distracted by running her free hand over him and her grip on him was loosening. A quick move freed Merkamou's hand, allowing him to roll over and face Rin. She was giggling again, straddling him and running her hands over his skin.

"I do not think you had your heart in holding me down, merlin."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps I was distracted."

Another move and Rin was back underneath him, still giggling. "And what is so distracting, merlin?"

"I am not sure. Perhaps you can help me to figure it out."

Grabbing his hair, Rin pulled her mate down for another deep kiss, feeling the strong body pressed against her. She felt a new pressure against her thigh, and her heart skipped a beat. Nervousness made her hands tense, holding Merkamou tightly to her.

"Easy, merlin. It will be all right."

Smiling a bit shakily, Rin nodded. "I trust you."

His hands slid down her body, stroking her. Desire flared within her, and need drove any nervousness away. Arching her body against him, she strained towards that moment that she had experienced with him in the east. When his hands slid away she whimpered, pulling on his shoulders as her body ached.

Slowly he pressed inside of her, gritting his teeth to maintain control and let her adapt. Rin gasped at the new sensation and the slight pain that accompanied it, staying still as her body stretched to accommodate him. He held perfectly still, waiting for her to be comfortable again before allowing himself to move. Her breath was hot against his skin as she shifted underneath him. He moved slightly, and when he heard a small moan he pressed deeper into her. Rin's body moved with him in the primitive rhythm, seeking release. Merkamou had her hands in his, holding them down as they rocked together.

The hawk was far too distracted to do anything when Rin flipped him over again, straddling him and taking control. Pressing her hands against his chest she moved on top of him, gazing into his eyes that were clouded with lust. He tried to move, maybe even to roll her back underneath him, but Rin shoved him down by his shoulders and buried her nails in his skin. Merkamou had no interest in fighting with her as his body shook with pleasure. She had her head thrown back, her long hair loose and swinging free as she felt tension take hold. The body beneath her was also tensing, his hands gripping her hips as he drove into her in an urgent rhythm. One hand slid up to her neck, pulling her down. Her cry of release was lost in that kiss, as was Merkamou's. Breaking apart for air, Rin shivered as pleasure continued to ripple through her body. Both of them were breathing raggedly as she dropped against his chest, listening to his heart beat slow down.

"Sugoi."

Merkamou chuckled. "Arigato, merlin."

Silence reigned for long enough that Merkamou was starting to think Rin was asleep. She shifted slightly, looking up into his eyes. "I love you, Merkamou."

"And I love you, my merlin."

----

Rin was sound asleep, curled up in his arms. Dressed in nothing but the necklace he had given her that night, Merkamou thought he had never seen something so beautiful in his entire life. He ran his fingers through her hair, enjoying the texture and the fact that he could sleep with her tonight without worrying about anyone seeing them.

The southern lands were waiting for them, and he could not wait to take her there. The idea of waking up beside her every morning still made him smile, even in the late night when he should be sleeping. His mate shifted in her sleep, pushing closer to him. He considered waking her for a moment, but decided to let her continue to sleep.

'I had always known that she had the heart of a fighter, but I did not expect that to transfer to the bedroom. In hindsight I should have known that she would react that way. Not that I particularly minded, but it was unexpected in a maiden.'

Forcing himself to close his eyes, Merkamou tried to rest. He had found his mate, and now he would return home with her and have a family of his own.


	61. A New Adventure

A/N: After due consideration, and some rather frantic sounding reviews, I have gone over my carefully planned out outline and chucked it out the window. In order to get the next story where I want it (and I'm sticking with the working title, Fire and Ice) I need to do some more work here. Now that I'm outline-less again I can't even guess when this is going to end. I think I have five chapters to go now. This is really like the song that never ends. Honestly. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm your little pet, and as long as you feed me I write.

Patience, Mr. J. I've got too many characters running around as it is! I promise that they will be very active in my next installment, but order must be maintained. I know, I know. Just let me think I have some order here. Shattered, meeting Inu in the future. . . Hmmmmmm. –wheels spinning- Reba Jean, it's over done, and yet so tempting for her character. –wheels spinning faster- Sorry, blackXheart, it had to happen. I'll be good, and I do have a little bit more violence planned just for you. Just grit your teeth through the goodbyes. Okay class, say it together . . . darkjewel owns nothing!

----

Sesshomaru's first instinct was to strike the hawk down where he stood. There was a tense moment while the two taiyoukai stared at each other, waiting to see what the other's first move would be. Rin looked back and forth between them, not thrilled at the idea of throwing herself in between them again. Of course the inu-youkai knew what had happened the previous night, and he wanted to rip the hawk's throat out.

Rolling her eyes, Kagome smacked her mate on the arm. "Knock that off. Its fine and you know it." She walked over to the rather pale Rin and pulled her pendant out from underneath her kimono. Katsuro reached out to put it in his mouth, but the miko kept it away from him. He settled for pulling his mother's necklace into his mouth instead. "This is so beautiful, Merkamou."

Seeing that Sesshomaru was backing down, Merkamou relaxed as well. "Arigato, Kagome-sama."

"Drop the title, you're family."

The blunt command was rather startling. "As you wish, Kagome."

"And that means no killing, Sesshomaru."

"Hn." There was a final appraising look before Sesshomaru looked away. He had no reason to kill the hawk, but his instincts had not fully accepted Merkamou's new status. 'He is practically a pack member now. The impulsive, loud idiot is now pack. I should blame Kagome for this.'

Since everyone was backing down Rin felt free to breathe again. Mizuki slipped out from behind her father to look at her sister's new necklace with her mother. "Did Merkamou-sama give this to you?"

"Hai." Rin bent down a bit so her sister could see the pendant.

"It looks a little bit like Mama's."

"Close, Mizuki-chan."

"So you are going to the Southern Lands."

Rin flinched at the statement. "Well, yes, since Merkamou is lord there, and he does need to go back. I cannot just stay here, not really. But I can come back and visit all of the time, it's really not all that far. And you can come and visit me, since I am not going to know anyone and I will miss my sister, and . . .

"Rin." Both Mizuki and Sesshomaru brought the tirade to a stop.

"Gomen, Sesshomaru-sama. And Mizuki-chan."

'That is downright creepy.' Kagome shifted Katsuro to her other hip and pried her necklace out of his hands. "Do you know when you two are leaving?"

"We have not discussed it. I would prefer not to leave the court unattended for too long, with my mother in exile and very unhappy about it. And I would prefer to beat the gossip back to my lands. I want to take them by surprise and not let them have a chance to be resistant." Merkamou looked over to Rin for confirmation and got a nod in return.

"Then you are going to need to go really soon. You know how gossip travels. We could probably have everything packed and ready in a matter of days." It was hard for Kagome to say those words, but she knew how important this was. She had been through the problems that Rin was about to face, and she wanted Rin to have every advantage.

"Days?" Rin looked rather pale again. 'I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I think I am going to be sick.'

Merkamou put his hand under Rin's elbow when he saw her sway. Mizuki looked at the familiar contact, and locked eyes with the hawk. She had not completely forgiven him for the fight with her father, and she stared at him for a long moment before giving a slight nod and looking away. If Merkamou was not mistaken, she had brushed her fingers across a throwing dagger tucked into her obi. 'What is it with this family and threatening me? I am not certain I will be any safer as a member of this pack.'

"Days, Rin-chan. I'll let Kumo know what we need to do and get the essentials taken care of. Anything else we can send after you. Merkamou is right, and this will be much easier if the nobles don't have a chance to get set up against you. Broadside them, and don't let them see you coming." Looking at Katsuro let Kagome get her emotions back under control.

"My sister will help. I am sending Takashi back with a message for her today, so she will know we are coming. She is not fond of ningens herself, but her support of me is absolute."

"Great." Trying to keep from being sick, Rin shook her head at the description of the sister waiting for them. "With allies like that who needs enemies?"

"Merkamou, I'm going to kidnap Rin-chan for awhile to get things settled. I'm sure you can find something to do." A glance over her shoulder pulled Sesshomaru into his mate's maneuver.

"You have work to do." The inu-youkai moved away without a glance behind him.

"I think he means me." Merkamou bowed to the group in the hall. "If you will excuse me."

Kagome waved him away, concentrating on Rin. "How are you doing, Rin-chan?"

"It is all happening so fast!"

"It has to, Rin-chan. You were there when I started with Sesshomaru."

"Hai."

"What happened?" Mizuki looked rather concerned.

Kagome tipped her head to the side and looked at her daughter. "You haven't heard that story?"

"I think the Captain started to tell it once, but he stopped."

"Well, it was not very popular for your father to have a miko for a mate, so a group of youkai attacked Rin and me in the garden at a party."

"So that is why you keep saying that you hate parties!"

"Exactly. I should have Rin-chan tell this one, since it really is her story."

Rin blushed. "It is your story, Kagome-chan. I was just along for the journey."

"What happened?" Mizuki was not about to be swayed from this story now that she was finally going to hear it.

"Like I said, a group of youkai attacked. I held them off with a barrier, but I get tired pretty fast doing that, especially with them attacking it. They had a barrier of their own, so Sesshomaru didn't know I was in trouble, and when he did find out he had to get it down to save me." Kagome smiled to herself. "And it was Merkamou that came charging down from the palace with him and brought the barrier down."

"Really?" Mizuki looked down the hall where the hawk had disappeared. "I never knew that."

"There's a reason he has a room in the family wing, Mizuki-chan."

"You are selling yourself short, Kagome-chan. You purified several of those youkai with your hair combs." Rin was also smiling in memory. "And I remember throwing up afterwards, and it was Merkamou that was with me."

"You threw up?" The pup made a face at her sister. "Why would you do that?"

There was no response for a long moment as Rin looked at the wall. Kagome glanced at her friend before answering Mizuki. "Rin-chan killed two youkai that night, and she had never been in a fight before." She looked over to the exterminator. "You were too young, jo-chan."

"It does not bother me anymore." Rin shrugged it off. Nobody but Merkamou knew that she had suffered from nightmares for two years after that night, or that she still suffered from nightmares from the assassination attempt on Katsuro and Mizuki.

"We need to find Kumo. But knowing her, she's probably already got everything organized and has been just waiting for the word." Kagome lead the group down the corridor towards her study. "She knows everything that happens in this place, usually before me."

----

'I never thought this day would come.'

Rin stared at Sesshomaru while her belongings were secured to Ah-Un. She had surprisingly little that she wanted to bring with her, and most of it would fit on the dragon. Non essentials would be following after her at a normal traveling pace. The fact that Ah-Un was coming with her had been a surprise. She had expected to leave him with his owner, but Sesshomaru had insisted that she take him.

"He is yours."

Tears were threatening to put in an appearance as Rin looked around the courtyard. Mizuki was helping her mother tie down the bundles while Shippo distracted Katsuro. Merkamou was talking to Sesshomaru quietly, off to the side. Left to her own devices, Rin could feel her emotions trying to escape. The last few days had been a blur of moving things, packing things, and going through her room. Many of her old clothes had been moved to Mizuki's room, and the small blade that Sesshomaru had given her was tucked away to wait for Katsuro. Her room had looked so odd, with the flowers gone and her clothing packed away.

Kagome had been catching her up on the politics that were going on, everything from the current relationships between the great Lords to the stories that Merkamou had told her of the Southern Lands.

"_Don't trust anyone. At all. They do not like you, and will not respect you until you can force the matter. Don't go anywhere alone, and don't meet with any of them. Merkamou trusts this sister of his, but I don't know if you should. Supporting her brother is great and all, but how convenient if the ningen were to have a little accident. They are so fragile, after all."_

"_But Kagome-chan . . . "_

"_No buts, Rin-chan. This is the way the game is played. After you have been in charge for awhile you might be able to find some that you trust, but they have to earn it, the same way you have to earn their respect."_

"_Can I do this, Kagome-chan?"_

"_You better, Rin-chan. I know you can do it, if you march in there like you own the place and never back down."_

Rin shivered in memory of that conversation. It was one thing to fight in battle, but this was an entirely different kind of fight. On a field she knew who her enemy was, but now it could be anyone. This was not an opponent squaring off with her, it was a knife behind a door.

Even Jaken had talked to her about the challenges she would be facing.

"_Rin."_

"_Hai, Jaken-sama?"_

"_Are you really going to the Southern Lands with Merkamou-sama?"_

"_Hai, Jaken-sama."_

_The little toad had shaken his head. "It will be very hard, girl."_

"_I know, Jaken-sama."_

"_Be careful. If you cannot find anyone trustworthy to assist you, ask Sesshomaru-sama and see if I can be spared for a short while. It will be hard to find anyone to cover important duties such as mine, but if it can be done I would be available for a short time."_

"_Really, Jaken-sama?"_

"_Stupid girl, Sesshomaru-sama has left you in my charge many times! If something happened to you I know his rage would be taken out on me!" The little toad had stomped his foot at her._

"_Of course, Jaken-sama." Rin dropped down to her knees to grab Jaken in a hug. "Rin will miss you, too."_

"_Put me down this instant, insolent child!"_

'That is a much more pleasant memory to focus on. And if things are as tough as Merkamou and Kagome say they will be, I may very well ask if he can come and be my assistant for a time. I will need someone I can trust.' Rin looked towards the sun that was now well over the trees. 'We need to get going.'

"You're too young for this, Rin-chan."

The exterminator turned to face Kagome, who was now carrying Katsuro. "I am the same age you were when you came to Sesshomaru-sama's home."

Kagome stopped and counted on her fingers. "I guess you are. I can't help but feel like I'm throwing you into a pit of tigers, though."

"I will not be alone. Merkamou will be with me."

"You watch his back, and he will watch yours. You should be more careful what you wish for, jo-chan. I'm pretty sure this is not what you had in mind."

Merkamou was looking over at them, and Rin smiled. "Close enough."

"It's just too cute for words." Kagome giggled as she grabbed her friend in a hug, almost smothering Katsuro. "I can't believe you are actually going!"

"Neither can I. It still does not seem real."

"And I keep turning around and expecting to see a little girl. A little girl with messy hair holding out a handful of flowers and chasing after Sesshomaru."

Rin eyeballed a lock of hair that had fallen across her gaze. "I have not changed that much."

Katsuro was reaching for Rin, so she scooped him away from Kagome, letting him pull on her loose hair. "Ah, little brother. I must come back to teach you how to hunt so we can go out together. How does that sound?"

There were squeals of delight as she tossed him up in the air, making his eyes shine.

Kagome pulled Rin over to Ah-Un. Mizuki was keeping her eyes on the dragon, her back tense as she checked over his tack. Katsuro was handed back to his mother.

"Mizuki-chan?"

The pup visibly braced herself before turning to meet her sister's eyes. "Hai, Rin-neechan?" The eyes, expression, and voice were all as smooth as glass, but Rin's eyes were on her sister's hands. A small drop of blood fell to the ground.

The exterminator dragged her hanyou sister into a tight hug, refusing to let go even when she squirmed. "I will miss you, Mizuki-chan."

The resistance melted away, and Mizuki buried her face in Rin's shoulder and hugged her back. "I will miss you too, Rin-neechan."

Pulling back, Rin wiped the single tear off of Mizuki's cheek.

"What are the rules, Rin-neechan?"

Rin smiled brightly at her sister. "No running, no yelling, no swearing, no hitting."

"And?"

"No challenges. I will see you soon."

"Promise?"

"I promise, little sister."

Mizuki pulled herself back together, ignoring her mother who was anxiously examining her hands.

"You shouldn't do that, Mizuki!" Kagome wiped the blood off her daughter's palms.

"It is fine, Mama." The voice was back to its usual cool tones, with no sign of her distress showing. "They will be healed before you could even find bandages."

Sesshomaru was watching his daughter as he walked over, following Merkamou. Mizuki met his eyes. She would talk with him later, when no one else was around.

"Are you ready, merlin?" Merkamou was rather concerned, since Rin had barely ate or slept for the last three days.

"Just about, Merkamou." Rin was staring at Sesshomaru. He had been there, walking just in front of her, for almost every part of her life that she could remember. He had brought her back to life, and had saved her life several times. And now she had to say good bye. "Uh . . . "

"Just say it, jo-chan." Kagome hissed in her ear.

Rin darted forward and threw her arms around Sesshomaru's waist. "Rin will miss you, Sesshomaru-sama."

Shock kept the inu-youkai frozen for a moment. Slowly, he set his hand on his ward's back with a feather light touch. "This Sesshomaru will miss you as well, Rin."

Pulling back, Rin wiped the last of her tears away. She gave him the same open grin he had seen for many years. "I have to go."

Merkamou bowed to Sesshomaru. "A pleasure to see you again, Sesshomaru-sama. I look forward to our next meeting."

There was a nod in reply, which was the response Merkamou had been expecting.

"Lady Mizuki, you must come visit and grace my court with your presence."

Mizuki's eyebrow popped up.

"Kagome . . . "

The miko grabbed him in a hug. "Take care of her for me, Merkamou. I know she'll take care of you."

"Of course, Kagome. I am certain that I will see you soon. I will be so very bored in my own lands."

"I somehow doubt that." Kagome shoved him towards Ah-Un, where Rin was waiting. "Get going, before you spend another night here. I swear you should just move in."

"Ready?"

Rin nodded, picking up Ah-Un's reins. There was a flash, and the taiyoukai was replaced by a flash of flame. He led the way, soaring over the walls.

"Wait up, you big jerk!" Ah-Un took to the sky, chasing the streak of fire. "If you loose me you will have to come back and get me, and that will take even longer!"

The family in the courtyard stared at the departing couple. "Does anyone want to bet on how long it will be before those two destroy the Southern palace?"

"Hn." Sesshomaru walked towards the palace. 'I would give it two months at most.'

"I think it will last a year, Mama." Mizuki watched the dragon as it disappeared. "They will be very busy with the court for about that long, and then they will be bored."

"You're more optimistic then me. I give it six months." Kagome cuddled Katsuro, who was also looking up at the sky. "I think it's time for someone's nap."

"I think I will take Shou out for some exercise." The pup prodded the dragon that was draped across her shoulders, sleeping soundly. "Wake up, Shou."

With a mighty yawn, the little dragon stretched and blinked his unusual eyes. He drifted to the ground and changed into his larger side.

"Come on, Shou." Mizuki took off for the gardens with her dragon right behind her.

Kagome sat in the entranceway of the courtyard, watching her daughter play in the gardens. 'It will be so different without her.' Katsuro was squirming, so his mother set him in the grass. He promptly took off after his sister, putting in a surprising bit of speed considering he was crawling.

"Katsuro! Get back here! Mizuki, stop so I can catch your brother! I know you can hear me, young lady! Stop, and stop that dragon!"

----

"Cool."

The hissing flame zipped around Rin. "Cool?"

"Kagome-chan uses it."

"Ah, so I take it that you like your new home?"

Rin looked down at the compound that sat on a cliff overlooking the sea. The view was spectacular, with seabirds catching the drafts to soar over the buildings. "It is amazing."

"Just wait until you see all of it. I am certain that you will want to overhaul the gardens, since I did nothing with them."

The exterminator's pulse accelerated as she looked over her new home. "Then you should show me, Merkamou."

The flame shot straight down, leaving Rin and Ah-Un just hanging in the sky. "Hey, I did not mean like that!"

By the time the dragon had touched down Merkamou was already back to his usual form and hugging a beautiful female.

'That had better be his sister.' Rin bit back her jealous response, staying on Ah-Un as she carefully watched the youkai around her. The game had started now, and she had no intention of making a stupid mistake.

"Akane, come and meet the merlin." Merkamou was leading the female with matching red hair over. "Merlin, this is my sister Akane."

The two ladies bowed to each other, watching with cautious eyes. Akane had the same hair and eyes, but her face was more guarded. She was dressed in more subdued colors, seeming very calm next to her brother. She offered a small smile. "I am certain you have a name other then the one my brother chose for you."

"My name is Rin."

"A pleasure to meet you, Rin-san."

"We should go inside, since we have been traveling for two days." Merkamou watched as Rin easily swung down, not looking particularly tired. "I am going to show the merlin to our rooms. After that we can talk. Perhaps over dinner?"

"I will see you then, brother." Akane bowed slightly before disappearing back into the palace.

Rin fidgeted when servants took her belongings to her room. She could have done it herself, but the bundles were untied and taken away before she could even comment. Another servant was leading Ah-Un away, watching the dragon with wide eyes. The two heads looked at each other before snapping both sets of teeth at the servant. There was a squeak, and the servant was gone.

"Ah-Un!" Rin marched over to the dragon, hands on her hips. "Stop that! No eating the youkai unless I say so!"

The two heads drooped, looking at her from the tops of their eyes.

"Now go to the stable and behave, or I will not bring any treats down to you later."

Slinking like a dog that had been scolded, the dragon took itself to the stable.

Merkamou led the still annoyed ningen through the halls, quickly getting her lost.

"Where are we, Merkamou? I will never find my way around."

"Sesshomaru's palace was much worse. How could you get lost here?"

"I did not grow up here. You better not leave me anywhere, or I will never find my way back."

Chuckles echoed down the corridor as Merkamou slid a door open. "Somehow I think you would find a way, if for nothing more then to deliver revenge to me."

"True." Rin followed him into a large room. Her eyes went immediately to the large doors on the other side of the room that were open, leading to a place to sit and look at the ocean. "Sugoi."

"I am glad you like it, merlin." The hawk set his hands on her shoulders, standing behind her. "This is what I miss the most when I travel."

"I can see why."

"It seems that we beat the gossip here. No one knows who you are, or why you are here. I am sure they will put it together quickly enough, but they did not have time to plan or make alliances."

"At least we had that much luck." Rin let her head fall back onto his chest. 'At least I have a fighting chance.'

"It will be a fight, to be certain, but I do not think you will have the difficulties of Kagome. Sesshomaru has set a precedent, taking a ningen. And my court is not quite as bloodthirsty. Most of the troublemakers were destroyed after that night in the gardens. I do not think any of the survivors care for a repeat of that. I also have a taiyoukai heir for the time being, so they will not start fussing about the hanyou heir right away."

"So I may live through this?"

"Are we going to have a discussion about the self pity again, merlin?"

Rin stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine. We fight. I have not lost a battle yet, and I do not intend to start now. Court nobles should be easy pickings after dealing with assassins and warriors in battle."

"Much better."

"What is a hawk or two after dealing with a dragon?"

"Excuse me?" Merkamou threw her over his shoulder. "You were saying, merlin?"

"Put me down, you beast!"

"As you wish."

The new Lady of the South was dumped in an ungainly heap on the bed. "You jerk."

"Hai. And we both smell like that dragon. Perhaps I should show you where the bath house is?"

"Since you have to share a bed with me, I think that would be in your best interest. Intrigue can wait until I am clean again."

"Although, with that particular fragrance, you might be safer from an assassin."

Merkamou bolted for the door with Rin right behind him. "Quit running away!"

"Somehow I do not think that would be a good idea."

Servants and courtiers scurried for cover as their lord bolted down the hall, chased by a ningen in unusual and almost scandalous clothing. Rumors rippled after them, trying to figure out who that strange female was. What had their lord done now?


	62. Problem

A/N: I was inspired, so you guys get a chapter nice and quick. It's like the old days. Okay, this chapie is a little odd, but just roll with it. I hate it when pacing starts to drag, so I'm injecting adrenaline. I've been glomped! Yes! I'm glad everyone liked my fluffy chapter. It is hard to figure out what to do with all of my fun characters. I can't just follow everything, and this is really Kag's and Sesshy's story. I do have an outline going for Fire and Ice, and I'm starting to get into it now. I had to make some really tough choices, but I think I made the right ones. Probably not popular ones though. sigh Anyone want to beta? I give out an outline for the whole story . . . Anyways, own nothing. Nothing.

Edited 4/6/06 to add clarifying opening line. I hate being that blunt, but I hate annyoing my readers even more. Sorry about that guys, the voices were yelling at me to hurry up and write, and I forgot that the readers can't hear the voices.

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--10 years later--

The sun was just reaching over the waves when Rin opened her eyes. She could see the sunrise from her bed, and she sat up to enjoy the sight without giving up her comfort. Merkamou rolled onto his back and promptly started to make a racket. Sighing, Rin pulled his shoulder to put him back on his stomach. She had learned that was the only way to keep him quiet.

An arm reached up to pull her back down to the bed, pulling her up tightly against a warm body. "It is too early to be up, merlin."

"As if I could sleep through that. I had to move you before you deafened everyone."

"You had no issues with sleeping through it last night." Merkamou nuzzled her throat, making Rin's heart start to race.

"You were not snoring last night." Coherent thought took a vacation as Merkamou's hands slid down her body. "Sukebe."

"I think I was, and you did not notice. Will you ever admit that I have won that challenge?"

"Never."

"Then I must try harder."

Warmth pressed down on Rin, making the rest of the world fade as lips moved on her own. Her own hands slid over his back, pulling him closer.

"Mama?"

Merkamou let his head fall to the pillow next to Rin. "Why did she have to take after you?"

"She had to take after someone, and better me then you." The exterminator ran her fingers through hair and feathers, smiling at his woebegone expression. "Mama and Papa will be up soon, Yuriko-chan! We will meet you at breakfast, and tell Jaken-sama that I will see him after we eat."

"Hai, Mama." Little feet disappeared down the hallway.

"There. I have bought us some time."

"And I am eternally grateful." Merkamou returned his attention to her lips, running talons ever so lightly down her sides. Her body arched against his, pressing them together.

"Show me how grateful you are."

----

"It is about time you got here."

"Good morning to you as well, Jaken-sama." Rin glanced through the notes on her desk. "Anything interesting today?"

"Mizuki wrote you." The little hand plucked a note from the pile and set it on top. "I have also heard that Lord Kenji has left on a vacation of some sort."

"That is a relief." Rin was not at all disappointed to see her most outspoken adversary out of the picture. "I should have killed him the first time I met him."

_----_

"_What is the meaning of this? Why is that in here?"_

_Rin fought back the urge to growl at the annoying noble. Every youkai in the room was glaring at her, except for her mate of course. He was too busy glaring at everyone else._

"_Shut up, Kenji. This is the new Lady of the South, and she belongs in here."_

_The racket was almost too much for Rin, and she wondered how the youkai could stand it. Everyone was up and yelling, including Merkamou. 'I suddenly appreciate Sesshomaru-sama's death grip on his nobles. This is ridiculous.'_

_Drawing one katana, Rin slammed the hilt on the table. The loud crack of wood startled everyone into silence, staring at the female. "Shut up, every single one of you. I do not want to hear that kind of noise. The next one that starts yelling will be doing so through six inches of steel."_

_One of the nobles started to bellow. "How dare you . . . "_

_The words turned into a gurgle as a dagger buried itself in his throat. "I said no more yelling. I only have one more dagger, and after that you will be dealing with a katana."_

_There was a blur of movement as Kenji drew a weapon and charged. His target could have been either Rin or Merkamou, but the exterminator was not going to wait to find out. Leaving her second blade at her side, she moved between Merkamou and his noble. Kenji pulled up short when he realized he had been disarmed already, but Rin had no intention of letting him escape. She knocked his feet out from underneath him and drove her katana through his left shoulder and into the floor. There was a faint hiss as the wound bubbled, making Kenji struggle to get the blade out._

"_Does anyone else want to discuss this, or can we call this matter closed?" Rin stood on Kenji's arm, holding him down._

_The downed lord hissed at her, eyes starting to bleed red._

"_I recommend you stop that. What was your name? Kenji? I understand that poison is not good for hawks, Kenji."_

_Her victim quit struggling and nodded. With a quick yank Rin pulled her katana from his shoulder and freed him. "An excellent choice."_

_Rin turned to find Merkamou caught between rage and amusement. She forced herself to breathe normally, calming her body. 'I think it is about time someone reined in this mob.'_

_A ripple of moving air warned Rin that Kenji was back up again. She felt talons close around her right arm, pulling her close as a dagger was set to her throat._

"_Foolish ningen. Never let an opponent live."_

"_Baka." Like many adversaries, Kenji had forgotten that Rin carried two blades. Her left arm was free enough to grab the second hilt and draw, swinging the blade over her head and behind her to drive point first into Kenji's right shoulder. "Opponent would imply I considered you a threat."_

_The dagger clattered to the ground as Kenji lost control of his arm. Rin dragged her blade back out, twisting as she went. "I have faced several taiyoukai in my life. They were trained warriors, and it was an honor to face them. You are nothing. Now get out of my sight."_

_Blood dripped on the floor from Rin's katanas as she glared at the group. She did not seem to notice that her arm and throat were bleeding from Kenji's attempt. Several of the lords swallowed hard and looked away. This group was not made up of warriors, and they had no interest in facing her. Kenji was bleeding badly and the wounds were still bubbling. "The next one to cross Merkamou dies. Understood? Now get out. I am sick of looking at you."_

_The silent nobles bolted for the door, staying away from Kenji. Even Merkamou was staring at her, almost as though he was afraid he was next on her list. _

"_Quit looking at me like that."_

"_After you clean off the blood and put those blades away I will. In the meantime I know you too well to risk annoying you just now."_

"_This is not my fault. Unruly does not even begin to cover this lot!"_

"_They never truly accepted me. They had followed my father, and expected Daichi after him."_

"_And you allowed it. I will not." Rin glared around the rather blood spattered chamber. "And for pity's sake, get someone in here to clean this up! If anyone needs me I am going to the baths."_

_For days all of the youkai avoided Rin, not interested in spending two days recovering from being poisoned like Kenji._

_----_

Jaken was shifting back and forth, looking uncomfortable. Rin knew the signs. "What else is there, Jaken-sama?"

"It just seems odd. Kenji, Mieko, Jomei. Even Reizo has left."

"I for one am thankful. Life is much more peaceful without that group around."

"Exactly." Jaken scratched at his chin. "All of your serious objectors have left at the same time. And I heard a rumor . . . "

"What did you hear, Jaken-sama?" Jaken's ability to slide right in with the servants had been a blessing. Rumors heard from servants usually foretold the actions of the nobles. Again, Rin thanked all of her lucky stars that Jaken had agreed to come and help. In a matter of days he had gotten her set up on a schedule, her papers under control, and was at her side most of the day to keep her on track. Even if he was not the most pleasant of company, Rin considered him a god send. Before his arrival she had been losing her mind.

----

"_Merkamou?"_

"_Huh?" The hawk looked away from a piece of paper with tiny calligraphy. He had been going cross eyed trying to read it, and was delighted with an interruption._

"_I need help." Rin dropped bonelessly to a cushion._

"_With what, merlin?"_

"_Everything! I am still getting lost in this maze, and I am going to all of the council meetings, and now they are starting to petition me instead of you. And the housekeeper quit after that fight we had, so I have been trying to cover for her, and . . . "_

"_I see, I see. What would you like for me to help you with? I can only show you around so many times."_

_Rin blew a raspberry at him. "I need an assistant, like Kagome-chan. I always wondered what Kumo was doing all day, and now I know. She was keeping Kagome-chan sane!"_

"_We can find someone . . . "_

"_I already know who I want. I am sending for Jaken-sama."_

"_The toad?" Merkamou wrinkled his nose. "Odd choice."_

"_I can trust him, and I need that more then anything right now. There is no one here I can trust but you. He can do anything I need, and he would actually enjoy keeping notes at meetings. And he said he would come and help me for awhile."_

"_If you are sure that is what you want, then bring the toad out. You do keep odd company, merlin."_

"_Just look at who I chose for a mate."_

_Merkamou threw a brush rest at her, which she deftly caught. "That is not nice."_

"_I am bored."_

"_You are always bored."_

"_We should go do something."_

"_I thought you were working."_

_Merkamou shrugged and stood, stretching. "Not anymore. Come, merlin, we can go and find something marginally useful to do."_

_Rin rolled her eyes as she was pulled to her feet. "It is a wonder you ever get any work done."_

"_And yet it somehow gets done. Enough complaining. You will get even slower if you do not practice at least sometimes."_

"_Even slower? Let us make a wager, my dear hawk. Best out of five, loser has council duty all of the next moon."_

"_That is a deal, merlin."_

_----_

The toad visibly braced himself. "It is about Merkamou's mother. The servants say that Jomei has gone to see her, and I think that is where the rest are going."

Rin froze. "How sure are you, Jaken-sama?"

"Sure enough that I would go to Merkamou-sama or Sesshomaru-sama."

"You are that sure?"

"Would I say that if I was not sure? Baka."

"But she has not done anything in the whole time I have been here."

Jaken gave her an annoyed look. "She has been building up her support for the last decade, girl."

"And now . . . "

"Now she is calling them in."

"When did Kenji leave?"

"Last night."

"He will be there by sometime tonight. I have to get Merkamou." Rin bolted from the room, leaving a squawking toad behind.

Servants simply stepped out of the way. Their Lady would frequently run rather then walk, her unusual kimono trailing behind her. All attempts at teaching her daughter Yuriko to walk had failed miserably, and now the palace occupants just got out of the way for both of them.

"Merkamou!" Rin darted through a door, looking for her mate. She found him playing Mahjongg with his sister, and now both were staring at her.

"Merlin?"

"Your mother is up to something."

Akane and Merkamou looked at each other.

"She is always up to something."

"I am being serious! Jaken-sama told me that Kenji and that group have all left, and at least one of them is going to meet with her."

Merkamou tipped his head to the side. "There is not a warrior in the group. I would not be too concerned. They will attempt to attack, I am certain, but we can hold against them."

"I do not like this." Rin started to pace under the calm gaze of the siblings. "Jaken-sama is right, she has been too quiet. She has been preparing for this for ten years, and now she is calling in her allies. She has something that makes her think she can win. We cannot just ignore this!"

"And we will not." Merkamou rose and caught her by the shoulders. She moved violently to shrug him off. "Easy, merlin."

"I know she is your mother, but I think she is going to catch us all unprepared! Kenji will be there tonight, and I think he is the last of them. She could be here in two days!"

"You are overreacting, Rin-san. Mother is a blood thirsty bitch, but she is no fighter or tactician." Akane calmly put the game away.

A low growl rumbled from Rin as her fingers brushed over her hilts. "It is not your daughter on the line, Akane-san."

'Uh oh.' Merkamou stepped between the two before the argument could escalate. "Merlin, I will assume that mother is coming in two days with a force of threatening size. I will make all preparations for this. Is this acceptable?"

"Hai." Rin quit glaring at Akane. She changed moods with the speed of lightning, rising up on her tiptoes to kiss Merkamou on the cheek. "I am going to go find Yuriko. I will see you later."

Merkamou listened to her footsteps as they faded away. "Quit trying to fight with her, Akane."

"She is overreacting. You know mother is not a real threat."

"And the merlin was right. It is not your daughter on the line. Do you think they would let Yurkio live?"

"No. Of course not."

"Then we assume the threat is real. I will not risk either of them out of pride."

"You will look like a fool when mother does nothing more then hurl insults at your door."

"Then I will look like a fool. It will not be the first or the last time that has happened. If you will excuse me, Akane-chan, I have some urgent matters to tend to now."

Akane watched her brother walk out. 'He truly loves her. I thought it was a passing fancy. My little brother, how could you set your heart on something as fleeting as a ningen? How many pieces will she leave you in, and will we be able to put you back together?'

----

"Jaken-sama, have you seen Yuriko?"

"I have enough to do without watching over that insolent child of yours." The toad dumped a pile of papers on her desk. "But I did see her going outside with the groundskeeper."

Rin grabbed a brush and paper. "I am sending a message to Kagome-chan to let her know what is going on. Merkamou thinks we are fine, but I want to have a reserve force. He does not need to know."

"Sesshomaru-sama will know the best course of action."

"Exactly." Rin hurriedly wrote out her note. "Please make sure this ends up in Kagome-chan's hands as soon as possible."

"I know my job, girl." Jaken caught up the message. "I can free up your afternoon if you need it."

"Really? Arigato, Jaken-sama!" Rin caught Jaken in a tight hug.

"Why do you insist on doing that?"

"Because you are so sweet, Jaken-sama."

"Put me down this instant!"

"Very well. I am going out to find Yuriko." Rin could still hear Jaken sputtering as she went out to find her daughter.

----

"Yuriko-chan, you are filthy! What have you been doing?"

"I have been helping with the flowers, Mama." The young girl threw her arms around her mother, sharing the dirt.

Yuriko had been a constant source of delight to her parents since the day she was born. She had her father's big gold eyes, but her mother's midnight hair. There were some iridescent feathers mixed in, adding shimmer. She had the tan complexion of both of her parents, and a charming smile that was all her own. At the moment her face was streaked with soil, and Rin could see the beginnings of a new flower bed behind her.

"Would you like some help, Yuriko-chan?"

"Hai, Mama! You can help put the new plants in."

The chick set to work making a mess while Rin found the flowers that would be going in. It shocked her still when she saw her five year old daughter. Being a hanyou, she had grown like a weed until she looked to be eight or nine. Then she had started slowing down. She did not look much younger then Mizuki now. Of course she did not get along well with her Aunt Mizuki.

_----_

"_Mama!" "Mother."_

_Kagome and Rin looked up as their two daughters approached. Yuriko was running, while Mizuki was calmly walking. "What now, girls?"_

"_Mizuki pushed me."_

_The silver haired pup rolled her eyes as she came close. "You started a fight and lost, and now you will try to get me into trouble."_

"_I did not! I do not want to fight with you, you're mean!"_

"_You were insulting me."_

"_And what horrible thing could your four year old niece have said to make you push her?" Kagome gave her own daughter a warning look._

"_She has been following me around all day, saying that I am boring."_

_Yuriko stomped her foot. "Well, you are."_

"_That is your opinion, simpleton."_

"_Mama!"_

"_Stop it, both of you! Yuriko, quit following her around if she is so boring. Find Katsuro and Shippo, I am certain they will be more interesting." Rin rubbed her head as she watched her daughter scamper off. "Mizuki-chan, did you really push her?"_

"_Actually, I tripped her more then I pushed her. I wanted to get a head start so she could not follow me, but then she went running for you." Mizuki did not look the slightest bit ashamed._

"_Play nice with your niece." Kagome poked her daughter in the arm._

"_Hai, Mama." Mizuki went back the way she came, manuscript in hand._

"_She is kind of boring, isn't she?"_

"_That is not true, Kagome-chan. She just does not play the same kind of games that the rest of the youngsters play. Yuriko will appreciate her more when she is older."_

"_Assuming they are still speaking to each other."_

"_And that is a large assumption right now."_

_There were squeals and yells coming from behind the palace now. Kagome and Rin looked at each other before running around the building. They found Yuriko giggling like crazy in a tree, directing Katsuro and Shippo. "No, no, try again."_

_Katsuro dropped form the tree in a move Rin recognized from her mate. He missed Shippo and ended up face first on the ground. "Ow."_

"_I will show you again." Yuriko dropped on Shippo, who was too busy laughing at Katsuro to see her coming. With a yelp he was flattened by the tiny hawk. "That is how, Katsuro."_

"_I don't think I like this game." Shippo rubbed his head._

"_You've got it easy. How about you fall out of the tree this time?" Katsuro rolled over._

"_I do not think dogs and foxes belong in trees." Yuriko released Shippo and examined the two downed youngsters._

"_And you are just now figuring that out?" Katsuro got back to his feet. "I have a better idea. Let's show the hawk what dogs and foxes are good at."_

"_What is that?"_

_Katsuro gave her a feral smile, a hint of fang showing. "Run and hide. I'll give you to the count of one hundred."_

"_Eep!" Yuriko took off across the grass as Katsuro and Shippo covered their eyes._

"_I don't think this is fair." Kagome looked over to Rin, to see her friend smiling._

"_No, but she is having fun."_

"_Fine." Kagome cupped her hands around her mouth. "If she gets hurt I will ground you both for a whole moon!"_

_The two boys flinched but kept counting._

"_I love it when you come to visit, Kagome-chan. It is just so much more fun."_

_----_

The flower bed was assembled quickly, aided by Yuriko's sharp little talons cutting through the soil. The next stop for Rin's daughter was the bath house.

"You are not dragging that dirt through everything." Rin dumped a bucket over her daughter's head.

"Mama!"

"Stop fussing. We are already late for dinner."

"So? Father is always late for dinner."

"We should try to set a good example for him."

Bundled into a robe, Yuriko was trying to hide her yawns. She would still get tired quickly, and Rin was suspicious that most of her energy was still going towards growing. "Into bed. You can eat after your nap."

"But I am not tired."

"Humor me, Yuriko-chan."

As soon as her head hit the pillow Yuriko was out. Rin tucked her in, carefully smoothing her hair down. Lingering in the doorway she watched her daughter as she slept, her little face so peaceful. She felt movement behind her and brushed her fingers across a dagger.

"Easy." Merkamou pulled her to rest against his chest. "I did not think you were still that mad with me."

"I am not mad, just tense. I remember protecting Mizuki and Katsuro, but this is worse. We have been so lucky, but I think our luck just ran out."

"We will fight, merlin."

"Hai."

"And win."

"Of course. What are a couple of hawks, anyways?"

Merkamou hissed a bit at her.

"Settle your feathers." Rin took his hand and pulled him out of Yuriko's room. "We have work to do. I do not want Yuriko to grow up as fast as I did, or even as fast as Mizuki. My daughter will get to be a child."

----

Kagome was trying to find the bottom of her desk. Kumo had been complaining about the mess, and that morning a pile had capsized and sent notes and missives across the floor. Now the miko was cleaning up.

'Why do I keep this stuff? These minutes are from a meeting fifteen years ago!' The pile to burn was quickly taking over the floor. A well marked paper made Kagome pause and examine it. It was a list of ladies, with different notes and marks by them. 'I still have this? Oh, this is just too funny now. I really don't need it anymore. I have at least eighty years until I have to worry about matching anyone up again.'

A new note was dropped into her lap. "Katsuro-kun, I'm trying to get rid of papers, not add to them!"

"This one just arrived from Rin-neechan. I thought you might want to read it." Katsuro poked through the burn pile. "Some of this is older then I am!"

"Get out of there." Kagome broke open the note. Her heart raced when the petal from a lily fell out.

Green eyes locked on Kagome as Katsuro heard her heart accelerate. "What is it, Mama?"

Kagome's eyes flicked over the note. "Oh no."

The miko bolted from the room with Katsuro right on her heels. He slammed into her legs when she suddenly stopped and threw a door open, cracking the wood rails. Her mate was watching her closely as the group of generals all turned to stare at the intruder.

"We have a problem."


	63. On the Move

A/N: Nope, not done yet. Close, but not quite. And this chapter is just huge! Don't know how that happened, but I don't think anyone will complain about that. Sorry, inuchick, but it was coming out repetitive. I kept looking at it going 'Didn't I write this once before?' Blah. Better to move things along. And I really do want to keep things over in Sesshy and Kag's land. Mr. J, it might make pay per view, ya never know. According to the DSM I have on the shelf (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) the voices could be a symptom of severe ADHD, severe depression, drugs, head trauma, or schizophrenia. Actually, I don't qualify for schizophrenia, I'm more schizotypal. So there's the professional opinion. I think it's my ADHD flaring up, personally. Oh look! Sparkly! What was I doing? Oh yeah.

As inuchick so kindly reminded me, I own the story, but about half of the critters are not my fault. I take full blame for the other half. Especially Merkamou. :-)

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"Ki-chan. Are you sleeping?"

"If I were sleeping, could I answer that question?"

Katsuro slipped into his sister's room and dropped onto her blankets. "Can't sleep?"

"It is considerably more difficult to do that when I have someone talking to me."

"Ki-chan."

"No, I cannot sleep. I am worried." Mizuki sat up to watch her brother's eyes in the moonlight.

"Me too. Poor Rin-neechan."

"And Merkamou, and even Yuriko. But I am also worried about Mama and father."

Katsuro burrowed under the blankets, settling in near his sister. "Why Mama and father?"

"Because they are going to leave and help Rin-neechan."

"Are you sure? They weren't talking about doing that."

Mizuki gave her brother an amused look. "Rin is in trouble. Do you think father will stay here? And where father goes, Mama goes."

"And what about us? I want to help!"

"Oh, they will probably bundle us off to Hideaki and Mayu again."

"I don't want to visit Auntie. I'm so sick of having my cheeks pinched."

"I doubt that Mama will allow us anywhere near a battle field."

"Then what do we do?"

"We come up with a plan to make them take us with them."

"Great. How do we do that?"

Mizuki put her hands behind her head and lay back down, staring at the ceiling. "I have no idea. I guess it is a good thing neither of us can sleep, because this could take awhile."

"I'll do anything that keeps me away from Auntie and Cho."

"Leave Cho out of this."

Katsuro laughed and imitated his sister's posture. "It's only fair, after you knocked Shippou off the bridge."

"There is a difference. Shippou is annoying."

"And Cho isn't?"

The siblings exchanged a glare.

"Concentrate, Katsuro. We need a plan."

"Planning is your specialty, Ki-chan. I'm more into execution."

"You mean you are more into destruction."

"Whichever."

"Focus."

"Blah." Katsuro made a face. "Dirty word."

"If you do not help, you will be visiting with Auntie in a matter of days."

"Okay, how do we convince Mama and father to bring us with them . . . "

-- - -

'I will not go easy on that hawk when we face off today. Even if working with the council like this does seem to improve how they deal with me.'

Rin tried to stay awake as a noble droned on and on through his list of complaints. Since almost every single one was directed at a male sitting across from him, the tension between them was thick enough to make Jaken forget to keep up with his meticulous notes.

"That baka will destroy the agriculture in the entire region, just so he may build a home exactly where he wishes to. Rin-sama, you must agree that rerouting a river is extreme."

"It is my land, and I may do as I wish. Your precious fields will still have access to water, since I am only moving a small section. Rin-sama will not listen to your jealous pleas."

"I am about ready to ignore both of you." Rin smiled a bit as quiet chuckles echoed up and down the table. "Rerouting a river, Rai? Your family must be doing very well for that kind of expense. If you can do it without destroying anything, go right ahead."

"Rin-sama!"

"Wait. If something does go wrong, Rai will be financially responsible for every creature affected."

The noble in question looked rather nervous. "It is a large and dangerous undertaking, my lady. Accidents can occur . . ."

"And I am certain that you have carefully considered this, and would never risk your neighbor's holdings over something as minor as where to build a house."

"Hai, Rin-sama." Rai capitulated, not willing to get into a fight with both Rin and his adversary at the same time.

"Is there anything else interesting for me?" Rin looked over to Jaken, who was back to scribbling notes.

Another noble spoke up. "The group of ningens that we have been watching is preparing to move out."

"And which way are they going?"

"We believe they are heading east, where some of their rivals are located."

"Then it is Akira's problem."

"My lady? Do you not mean Isamu-sama?"

"You forget, I have met that particular pair. It is Akira's problem, although I am certain that Isamu will swoop down on them exactly as instructed."

There was more laughter as Rin skimmed over her list. While the council was not fond of her, and would frequently be very belligerent, a truce of sorts had been called. The general attitude was, 'If we had to be stuck with a ningen, at least she has a sense of humor.'

"I do not see anything else that cannot wait. Wish me luck, so that you may deal with my mate instead of me for the next moon."

"Good luck!" One of the nobles smiled broadly.

"You do not need to be that enthusiastic."

Another noble bowed dramatically from his seated position. "I, for one, will not wish you luck in this, Rin-sama. We are much more productive under your influence."

"Flattery, Kenta?"

"Hai. And perhaps you will have time to look at . . . "

Rin clapped her hands over her ears. "Adjourned! We are adjourned!"

There was a final laugh as the nobles gathered their things.

"Oh, before I forget." Rin kept her eyes on her paper as she spoke. "If anyone is looking to go on a trip, especially to the Far Shores area, I suggest you change your plans."

No one even dared to breathe in that silence. All eyes were on the ningen, who was still looking at her paper. One brave soul spoke with the softest of voices. "Rin-sama, we are not going to visit Lady Sumi."

"Of course not. None of you would ever be foolish enough to cross Merkamou in such a way." Rin finally looked up at the row of staring eyes. "You know what would happen."

There was a mumbling of "Hai, Rin-sama" as the nobles drifted out.

Rin turned to the toad at her side. "Well, Jaken-sama?"

"If any of them are involved they will either try to distance themselves, or they will bolt tonight. Either way, I will be watching." Jaken shuffled his own notes together.

"Arigato, Jaken-sama."

"This is all that hawk's fault, for letting them go unchecked for so long."

"Hai, Jaken-sama." Rin walked away, letting the toad continue to rant and sputter by himself. She had heard this rant too many times to stay for another rendition. "I am going to find Merkamou. If I can manage it, we will not have to go to council for a moon."

"And you will let him regain control when he cannot manage them? Be reasonable, Rin!"

Ignoring Jaken's parting shot, Rin went straight outside. She stretched out, forcing her body to loosen up after spending the morning inside. Merkamou would be waiting for her, and they would spar to see who would have council duty for the next month. Rin ended up with the duty three times out of four, with her mate being a taiyoukai and all, but she was determined to have the next month off. No matter what it took.

"I do not think I like the look in your eyes, merlin." Merkamou dropped from a tree to watch her. "I predict that this will be rather painful for me."

"A safe prediction." Rin slipped her katanas out of her sash and set them aside. They were too dangerous for practice, and she would use practice blades in their place. "Rai is planning to reroute a river to build a house."

"You are joking."

"I wish I was. I want it to be your problem to deal with."

"I am in very serious danger, I think." Merkamou picked up a practice blade of his own. Rin had insisted that he use one, after he had insisted she put those damn katanas away. A glancing blow with one of those evil things had itched like crazy and cost the hawk a night of sleep, and he had no interest in dealing with that again.

"That you are, my love. Now get over here and let me take out some of my frustration on you."

"How could anyone deny a request like that?"

The hawk dove forward, hoping to get one easy point before she was ready for him, but she was waiting. Rin was in motion, coming around behind him to land a swat across his backside. "That was not a nice way to start, trouble maker."

The two exchanged blows, and Rin felt her heart race as the adrenaline kicked in. 'This is what I am good at. Not meetings, not letters, but this.' A hard blow shook through her arms, pushing her back as Merkamou tried to trip her up. She twisted and slammed her elbow into his gut, stopping with her back to his chest while he wheezed. "Come now, my lord. Are you even trying?"

Giggling, Rin jumped away as Merkamou tried to grab her arm. He chased after her, stopping in time to avoid a sudden attack when she spun back around. His blade was caught with both of hers as she stared into his eyes. "Gomen, Merkamou."

"Keh?" Merkamou narrowed his eyes at her. Rin stepped in and kicked, her foot connecting with his chin. His head snapped back, throwing off his balance enough for Rin to get in under his blade. She set one blade across his torso and the other at his throat.

"Kill, Merkamou."

The hawk stretched out his jaw, feeling it pop back into place. "Very well, merlin. If you wish to play that way."

"Uh oh." Rin danced away as her mate came after her again. He managed to catch her arm and actually lifted her up off of the ground by it. She swung at him with her free arm, but he blocked it, pulling her in close.

"That was not a very nice hit, merlin." The hawk pushed Rin's own blade against her chest, holding it there. "Would you like to yield?"

"Damn." She wiggled about, trying to figure out a way free, but she was well and truly caught. "I yield."

Merkamou could hear discussion drifting down from an open window. Looking up, he could see the council piled up around a window, probably placing bets on the outcome. Setting his mate back down, he smiled at the group. "We have an audience, merlin."

"Then we should give them a show." Rin swung again, sending her hawk into a retreat.

The betting continued as the council watched their Lord and Lady pummel each other. When Rin managed to crack him in the head with the flat of a blade, the odds swung to her favor. The odds swung back to Merkamou when he knocked her feet out from underneath her and got one of her blades away. When they were tied, four to four, the audience watched anxiously to see who would win.

Desperation made Merkamou back up, seeing the glint in his mate's eyes. He tried to catch both blades with his single one, but he was having no luck. He left an opening, one that Rin could not ignore, and invited her to come in close. A quick move with a leg sent Rin down. The mistake was made when Merkamou moved in for the kill too quickly, not noticing that his mate's fall was controlled. A hard kick to his knee sent him to the ground next to her. She was on her feet and over top of him in a heart beat.

Lunging to his feet, the taiyoukai simply slammed into Rin to get her out of the way. Without even intending to she managed to hit a nerve cluster in his right shoulder hard with the hilt of a sword. Swearing, Merkamou took a step back. She was on him in that moment of distraction, slamming into the blade hard enough to jar it from his fingers. He ducked under her next attack, rolling for his weapon, but came up short when she slammed one blade through his kimono to pin it to the ground. Dropping on top of him, she set her second blade across his throat.

"Do you yield?"

Merkamou sighed with resignation as he looked up at the ningen that had managed to trap him. Unarmed, he stood no chance of escape. "Hai, merlin."

"Thank goodness." Rin flopped over next to him, panting. "I was getting worried that I would be stuck with Rai and that stupid river."

"I will get you for this, merlin."

"You can try."

----

"Mizuki, Katsuro, your father and I are going to go check on Rin-chan and Merkamou. You two are going to be staying at the Northern court."

Kagome's words made both of her children cross their arms over the chests and lay their ears back. Mizuki was the spokesperson. "Mama, that is a bad idea."

"Nani?" The miko stared at her usually obedient child.

"There is trouble in the Southern lands, involving family, and you want to send us on a journey?"

"It's not like I'm just sending you two out on the road. I'm sending guards."

"But no taiyoukai. And we have seen how well guards stand up to that kind of threat. How do you know this is not a tactic to distract you while they attack your own pups? Everyone knows that you would run to help Rin-neechan if she was in trouble."

Mouth hanging slightly open, Kagome tried to wrap her mind around this new objection. "Mizuki, don't be ridiculous."

"Katsuro is heir, and many disagree with that. I cannot protect him alone . . . "

"Hey, I don't need you to protect me!" Katsuro broke in.

"And the last assassin that came to call ripped through your guards like they were not even there. And you intend to leave right away, I am sure."

"Well, yes." Kagome fidgeted as the conversation ran away with her.

"Then it would take two days for Mayu-sama or Hideaki-sama to collect us. That is a long time for someone to attack."

"I can't take you two with me. We don't know what is going to be happening." Kagome crossed her own arms, trying to wrestle control of the conversation away from her daughter. "You are in less danger here."

"Between your protection and father's we are safer with you, no matter where you go. It is not like we would be going into battle with you."

"I'm getting your father." Spinning around on her heel, Kagome stomped off to where she could sense Sesshomaru.

Katsuro winked at his sister as they trailed along after their mother. It had taken most of the night to come up with this objection, and it just might work.

"Sesshomaru, talk some sense into your daughter. She can't come with us!" Kagome pushed the advisor sitting in front of the desk over so she could sit next to him.

"Why do you wish to come, Mizuki?"

Under the steady gaze of her father's eyes, the pup struggled to keep her own composure. "We are safer with our parents."

"And you think that this is a distraction."

"It is a possibility."

"A slight one."

"But real."

The inu-youkai narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at his daughter. "She has a point. I have been receiving reports of several odd happenings in the south, not all related to the exiled hawk. There may be more going on here then Rin knows."

"Nani? You agree with her?" Kagome whipped her head around to look at her daughter, then back to her mate. "You want them to come with us?"

"It is not ideal, but they are safer with us. I will protect them."

"This is a really bad idea. We are running into battle with our pups!"

"They will not fight. Understood?"

"Understood, father." The two pups bowed slightly as they spoke in unison.

"I guess this means I have to pack for them, too. And how are we going to get them there? You can't carry all of us, and we were just planning on you carrying me."

"I have Shou, Mama." Mizuki's pet popped his head up and the sound of his name, but decided that this was boring and went back to sleep.

"Perfect, my daughter and son can ride the half trained dragon into battle. This is stupid."

"I have worked with Shou. He is safe." Sesshomaru looked over at the advisor, who looked like he wanted to just drop through the floor. "We will continue later."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama." The advisor bolted from the room, leaving his lord to deal with his unruly family.

"Kagome, they are not ningens. They are not as delicate as you think."

There was a heavy sigh as Kagome propped her chin on one hand. "I know. I still think this is a bad idea, but they probably are safer with us then anywhere else. Especially on this short of notice. We may be running around like crazy over nothing, after all."

"When are we leaving, Mama?" Katsuro tried to avoid bouncing with excitement. 'I get to see Rin-neechan and Shippou, see a battle, and ride Shou. This is incredible!'

"As soon as we can get you two ready." Kagome rubbed her temples as she stood up. "Mizuki-chan, if I didn't know better I would say that this was a plot so you wouldn't get left behind."

"Do not be silly, Mama." Mizuki watched as her mother and brother left, knowing by her father's look he was not done with her.

"Did Katsuro help with this?" Sesshomaru leveled a cool gaze at his daughter.

"Hai."

"It very nearly did not work. Go and help."

"Hai, father. Arigato." Mizuki bowed before escaping. 'He knew the whole time!'

-----

"Rin-sama."

Pushing a stray tendril behind her ear, Rin looked up from drawing with Yurkio. "Hai?"

"Merkamou-sama requests your immediate presence in his study."

'What now?' Rin set aside her brush and dropped a kiss on top of Yurkio's head. "I will be back, Yuriko-chan."

Following the servant, the exterminator tried to guess what would be this important. Usually Merkamou just came and got her himself. She found him sitting behind a desk, with an unusually serious expression. Waving the servant away, she dropped down on the cushion in front of his desk. "What is it?"

"The ningens are marching this way, not to the east. They will be here in another day or two, depending on the time they make." Merkamou slid a document to her. "And my mother has escaped."

"So you think she is responsible for the ningens." Rin glanced over the paper. "This is a rather large force, even if it is just ningens."

"Nothing that we cannot stop, but now my mother is loose with her allies. I am becoming suspicious that she has another trick waiting for us."

"How did she convince a group of ningens to march against you? You have never had a quarrel with any of the villages in your lands."

A taloned finger tapped at the paper, close to the bottom. Rin read the end of the message.

_The rumor is that the ningens are marching to rescue a female held captive by the Lord of the South._

"This must be a joke. Are they referring to me?"

"This reeks of my mother's handy work. She would tell them that I have captured a ningen, and sired a hanyou on her. Now they are marching to rescue you and destroy me. In the chaos she can attack on her own, with whatever other weapons she has put together."

"Simple enough. I tell them that it was all a mistake, and they go home."

A tired smile was directed at the simple plan. "Do you honestly think that a few words will turn them back? They are probably worked up into a righteous frenzy, and they will take you from here if at all possible. Most do not agree with ningen and youkai pairings."

"Then what do we do?"

"We defend ourselves."

"Against ningens? That will be nothing more then a slaughter!"

Merkamou slammed a fist on his desk. "You think I do not know that? My choices are to fight, to let them overrun my palace and kill the occupants, or turn you over. Which would you prefer, merlin? Understanding, of course, that they would still try to kill every youkai here even if I did turn you over."

"We fight." A sour taste was in Rin's mouth as she said the words. "If we kill them, more will come for you."

"I know."

"I will kill your mother for this." Rin looked up at her mate's eyes, her mouth a hard line. "I will personally hunt your mother down and tear her apart."

The hawk swallowed hard, casting his eyes down. It was his mother, but she was the greatest threat to his mate and his offspring. "Do as you will."

----

"Are we there yet?"

"For the last time, Katsuro, it will not make things go faster if you keep asking that." Kagome glared at her son. She had both of her pups in front of her on Shou, who was now large enough to carry three. If the dragon was going to take off, she would be there to help. "Are you sure this dragon is safe, Sesshomaru?"

Shou gave her a definite glare.

"Hai." Sesshomaru pushed his pace again, checking to see if the still growing dragon could keep up. 'There was once a time when journeys like this were peaceful, quiet affairs. Even with just Kagome it was fairly peaceful. I was never this noisy when traveling with father.'

"Want to play a game, Ki-chan?"

Mizuki looked at the pup in front of her. "Are you serious?"

"I'm bored."

"I'll play with you, Katsuro. This one is called I Spy." Kagome leaned around Mizuki to address her son. "I spy with my little eye something. . . purple."

The desperate expression on his daughter's face made Sesshomaru hang back. "Mizuki."

"Hai, father." Without a second though she jumped from the racing dragon to her father, confident he would catch her.

Kagome gave them a startled look before returning to her game. Katsuro was avidly guessing everything he could find that was purple. "Father's stripes?"

"No, but good one! I'll have to remember that. Try again."

The taiyoukai moved a short distance away, providing some relative peace and quiet. Mizuki set her head on his shoulder, soaking up the calm and solid feeling of him. She loved her Mama and Katsuro, but they were like mercury, always moving and changing. Father was solid and calm, soothing. Katsuro and Mama together would feed off of each other, playing loud and silly games until Mizuki's head would spin trying to keep up. It seemed to her that father understood how she felt. He loved Mama and Katsuro, too, but sometimes it was just too much.

"Do you see that river? That is the boundary between this family's lands and Merkamou's lands." Sesshomaru pointed to a winding river.

Mizuki looked on with interest as her father pointed out some of the geographic points that she had seen on maps. "I know that point, father. You fought a battle there. One of the generals laid it out for me on a map."

"Then tell me how that battle was fought."

Avidly pointing out the landmarks that she could now see, Mizuki replayed the battle for her father. She sprinkled in questions about strategy now that she could see where the fight had occurred, and was delighted to have her father's undivided attention.

"You need to spend more time out of the palace, daughter. You should learn the lands you will help defend."

"Hai, father." The silver haired pup settled against her father's shoulder, happy enough that she could almost fly by herself at that moment.

"Come on, Katsuro, what is it? Tell your Mama."

"You have to guess! It's not that hard."

Two pairs of eyes glanced at the squabbling pair on the dragon, with identical blank expressions that hinted at fascinated confusion and a touch of affection. Unknown to them, identical thoughts were also running through their minds.

'I will never understand them.'

----

The ningen army was spread out around Merkamou's palace. With the palace facing the sea and with a cliff on one side, there were only two walls to defend. Rin stood on one of these walls with Merkamou, both dressed for battle.

"Where is Yuriko?"

Rin tightened her sash, keeping her eyes on the approaching enemy. "She is in one of the interior rooms. We do not need to worry about her getting in the crossfire. I have several youkai she knows watching her, along with the guards. She will not be able to get away from that group."

"Good." Merkamou crossed his arms over his chest, watching the group. There were not enough soldiers to make him worry about holding the palace, but his mother was out there somewhere. This was all a trap, and he was desperate to not get caught in it.

A lone figure cantered out on a horse, riding close to the palace. Rin scanned over the clothing, and bit back a gasp.

The woman dressed as a miko stopped her horse, glaring at the hawk lord and his mate. "We have come for the ningen that you are holding captive. Release her!"

Merkamou gave Rin an almost amused look. "Shall I release you, merlin?"

"Knock that off." Rin raised her voice to address the strange miko. "I am not here against my will. I do not wish to leave."

"Child, you do not know what you are saying. You are being controlled by that youkai!"

"As if I could ever control you," Merkamou grumbled under his breath.

Rin elbowed him in the gut as she called back to the miko. "I am not being controlled by him. I made this choice. We simply wish to stay here in peace."

"He gave up any chance of peace when he snatched you away from your family!" The miko folded her hands and mumbled under her breath, concentrating.

"She does not know who your family is, does she."

"This is serious, Merkamou! Do you want to fight a miko?" Rin leaned forward to watch the woman. She had no idea what this miko was doing, since the only other priestess she had met was Kagome. And Kagome was rather unusual.

"No, I would really rather not." Merkamou nodded to an archer, who fired an arrow at the woman. The weapon hit a barrier and disappeared in a puff of energy. "So much for doing this the easy way. What do you suggest, merlin?"

"I have no idea. I was never very interested in attacking mikos before." The ningens were milling about, and Rin was suspicious they were about to charge. "I hope the rest of these ningens are just regular soldiers."

"Mother certainly did an excellent job on this scheme." The hawk grabbed his mate's arm and pulled her down as the miko pulled out her bow and arrow. "This does not look promising."

An arrow arced over the wall, taking out a group of archers. The ningens were now yelling and charging, rallying around the miko. The youkai archers loosed their arrows, but were dropping for cover when the miko attacked again. A third arrow hit the wall, and blew out a large section.

"Damn miko." Merkamou grabbed Rin around the waist and dropped to the ground. "We have to kill her before we can deal with the rest. I could really use Kagome right about now."

"Well . . . " Rin fidgeted.

"What is it, merlin?"

"I sort of sent a note to Kagome-chan when we found out about your mother."

"Then I hope that miko is on her way, because we will need some help."

Youkai ran to defend the rather large hole that was now the focus of the ningens' attack. Archers tried to lay down covering fire, but the miko was taking out groups of them at a time. Another explosion rocked the palace as the miko hit the wall again, punching another hole.

Rin whistled, calling the already saddled Ah-Un to her side. The miko was less of a threat to her then any of the youkai, so she would focus on that danger. "Merkamou, you stay here and hold the ningens back. I am after the miko."

"Be careful, merlin." Merkamou grabbed her in a quick kiss before turning his attention to defending the crumbling walls.

Leaping onto Ah-Un, Rin soared over the wall. The ningens took aim with their arrows, looking to bring the dragon down, but could not catch them. The exterminator had eyes only for the miko that was firing at her mate's home again.

In the palace Merkamou had his own blade out, keeping the threat out of his compound. A solider slid to a stop near him, bobbing in a quick bow. "My lord, there is another force coming!"

"Nani?" Merkamou grabbed the soldier by the arm. "Who?"

"A youkai force, flying Kenji's colors."

'Mother did her job well. The ningens breech the wall and cause chaos with the miko's help, then her allies come in to finish the job.' The hawk turned to bellow to his own troops. "Destroy this force! Now! Kenji is leading a second wave!"

All of his youkai surged forward, trying to eliminate the enemy as the miko continued to unleash her arrows. When the miko's arrows stopped, they were able to push the ningens back out of the palace. Merkamou waded through the ningens, cutting a swath and sending them back out of the compound in a crazed retreat. Once that threat was gone he dared to jump on the wall, looking to see if Rin had brought the miko down.

The miko was not down, but his mate was.

"Merlin!"

----


	64. Family

A/N: 100,000 hits! Do I feel loved? Yes, yes I do. If you guys wouldn't leave such funny reviews I would not be so tempted to write cliffies! Really! I actually used the DSM IIIR, since my DSM IV was lent to a friend and never seen again. Blah. Since I'm doing business and not psychology now I never got around to replacing it. Now I'll just wait for V. I'm glad I made your day, haben. Geus, I usually play Inuyasha music to keep me in character. But I have a whole play list for action scenes. Can't write without my headphones on. It's weird. Oh, I own just a couple of characters, but since I'm going to Vegas this weekend I probably won't even own them by the time I get back.

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The miko was watching as Rin dove Ah-Un at her. What Rin was going to do when she got there had not quite been decided, but this should distract the woman before she shot anymore arrows at the compound. Not many people can ignore a large, two headed dragon flying at them.

The arrow that had been intended for the palace was swung towards Rin's youkai mount. Ah-Un pulled up hard, trying to dodge away but they were too close. The miko released, and the exterminator had two heartbeats to make a decision. It took her only one heartbeat to slash her katana at the attack, releasing that surge of energy she had felt on the battlefield so long ago. The black arc slammed into the glowing arrow and both exploded.

Unprepared for that result, Rin was roughly tossed from Ah-Un. Tumbling towards the ground, she had enough time to curl up into a ball before slamming into the grass.

It took a few precious moments for the exterminator to get her thoughts back after having her head so rudely introduced to the ground. 'I have had better ideas.' She carefully assessed the damage as she lay on the grass. Her left arm did not move correctly, but at least it was not broken. Opening her eyes she could see blades of grass, and above them a glowering miko. For someone that was looking to rescue her, the miko certainly did not look friendly.

Ah-Un dove at the miko again, blasting at her from both mouths. The attacks simply dissipated across her barrier, but the pink wall did shiver as the woman struggled to keep it up. An arrow shot at the dragon sent him racing for the open sky again, roaring in frustration. He would never run from a simple arrow, but he could smell the threat on these weapons.

Levering herself up to her knees, Rin cast about with her eyes for her missing blade. One was still securely at her side, but the other had been knocked loose in the fall. She could see it about ten feet away, but the miko was watching her.

"Are you a threat now, girl? Does he control your mind so completely?"

"How can I make you believe that I am with him of my own free will?" Rin carefully set her right hand on the hilt of her remaining katana. She had limited interest in blowing up anymore arrows, but if she had to she would.

"No decent woman would be with a youkai of her own free will, even a taiyoukai. He may look human, but he is a monster." The miko turned her arrow to point at Rin.

Rin's grip tightened on her hilt. "I will not let you kill him or my daughter."

"So it is true." The old eyes narrowed. "He does have complete control of you."

The youkai blade sprung to life as Rin drew it, sparking in reaction to the miko's aura. Seeing the black blade made the miko lean back on her mount, as though it was contagious. "You are beyond saving, child. Rest in peace."

The arrow whistled through the air as Rin brought her katana up to block, not looking forward to another explosion. This time she was knocked back several body lengths, flattened on the ground. The miko's barrier was flickering from the blast, but still up. Trying to force her body up, Rin wracked her brain for a way out of this one.

"Back off, you old hag."

Rin forced her eyes to focus. Merkamou was standing between her and the miko. Said miko was aiming at him, but there was fear in her eyes. Her hands shook on the bow as she stared at the crimson eyes that glared back.

A loud roar sent her eyes up to the sky, looking for Ah-Un. If he could distract the miko she would have a chance to get herself and Merkamou out of there. Her eyes found Ah-Un, but he was not looking in her direction. Both heads were facing away from her, watching something approaching. Rin looked over, and almost started laughing. 'Sesshomaru-sama.'

Shou was diving down with two pups and a very pissed off miko. Next to him was a seemingly calm inu-youkai with a wicked blade in his hands. Sesshomaru touched down next to Merkamou, glancing over his ward before focusing his eyes on the miko. The woman that had been aiming for Merkamou refocused, aiming for the large blue dragon that was heading towards her.

"You both stay on this dragon, and stay in the air, or so help me I'll ground you both until your 300th birthdays!" Kagome dropped off of Shou, bow already in her hands. Seeing the arrow pointed for her pups she notched her own arrow and took aim at the stranger. "Oh no you don't!"

The older miko stared at this new ningen. Dressed in clothing like her own, but in shades of blue, the young woman's aura snapped with spiritual energy. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kagome, who are you?" Keeping her aim on the now silent miko, Kagome eased towards Rin, who was still on her back. "Rin-chan, are you okay?"

"I have been better." Rin managed to prop herself up on her elbows. "Merkamou, the walls are down. You need to go back."

"Not until you are safe." Merkamou knelt down next to his mate, now secure that Kagome had things under control enough for him to do that.

"I am fine now. Go with Sesshomaru-sama before we are attacked again."

"Hn." Sesshomaru glanced back at Rin, hesitant to leave his ward and mate to face this threat. The miko saw him look away and fired at him, her weapons glowing pink. Without even thinking about it he snatched the arrow from the air. He felt the energy crackle over him, but there was no damage done. 'A benefit of mating a powerful miko.'

"How?" The miko lowered her bow, staring at the taiyoukai.

"Don't ever shoot at my mate, you bitch!" Kagome's aura snapped, making things rather uncomfortable for the two taiyoukai. Her own arrow smacked against the barrier, making it ripple before the arrow dropped to the ground.

Sesshomaru lifted his head to watch the new group of youkai start their charge, running down any ningens that got in the way. The older miko was no longer keeping the youkai distracted, and the fight had turned into a slaughter for the ningens. With a final glance to his mate, who seemed to have everything quite under control, he charged at the oncoming force.

"Mate?" The older miko's bow came back up. "A miko and a youkai? Abomination!"

The arrow hit Kagome's aura and disappeared in a flash of energy. "You're going to need to try harder then that."

Slipping the bow over her shoulder, the miko folded her hands and started chanting.

"It's been on my to-do list to get trained, and suddenly it seems a lot more urgent." Kagome looked to Merkamou. "We need to get Rin-chan out of here, and you need to get back to the palace. Even Sesshomaru can't stop all of them before they can reach what's left of the walls."

Merkamou lifted Rin as Kagome whistled, bringing Shou back down.

"Rin-neechan! Are you okay?" Katsuro leaned down as the dragon came close to the ground. Rin was rather surprised at her brother's firm grip as he helped Merkamou put her on the dragon.

"I am fine, Katsuro-kun." Rin felt incredibly guilty leaving Kagome to this fight, but it was not a battle that she was equipped for. "Merkamou, get back to that palace before your mother does!"

"Hai, merlin." The hawk turned into a whisp of flame and disappeared.

Shou climbed back up into the open sky, watching the chaos with uncertain eyes. Ah-Un pulled up alongside him, watching his rider with two anxious expressions.

Left on her own, Kagome turned to focus on the older miko. Her opponent was not moving, but was mumbling under her breath still.

'That can't be good. Okay, what works against me?' Kagome saw the blade left in the grass. She knew that Rin's katanas rejected everyone, but she might be able to hold on long enough for this to work. Gritting her teeth, she darted across the grass, picking up the blade.

The youki bit into her hand, shocking her as she slammed it into the miko's barrier. The pink shimmer pulsed, startling the older miko out of her muttering. Kagome swung again, making the barrier pulse again before losing her fight with the blade. She dropped it into the grass and hugged her hand to her chest. The barrier was shaky now, not quite a steady glow.

The bow and arrow were back out, the older miko taking aim. Mumbling again, she fired her arrow. It hit Kagome's barrier, and there was a pause before it disappeared. Cursing her injured hand, Kagome picked up her own bow again.

It was a lost cause. Her hand was too damaged to handle the arrow. Dropping the bow again, she squared her shoulders. 'If I can take down Naraku and Ryuutaisho, I can deal with one miko.'

Another arrow was aimed at her, and Kagome took a deep breath. Instinct allowed her to push more energy into her barrier, making the latest attack disappear before it had even touched it. She knew she could hold off the miko, but she needed to stop her. Hoping that this was a good idea, Kagome walked right up to the other miko's barrier and set her hands on it. The purifying energy did her no harm, feeling nice and warm to her touch. It was as solid as a wall, but convincing energy to move around was something she had some experience at.

'Okay, I make energy move into things all the time, now I just have to convince her energy to move. It's a good thing I'm really stubborn.' Closing her eyes, Kagome started to move the energy out of her way.

"What do you think you are doing, woman?" The strange miko sounded like a frightened bird, backing her horse away. She ran into a problem when she could not make it through her own barrier, which was no longer fully under her control. "What are you?"

"A very bad miko." Smiling to herself, the younger miko put more effort into her attempt. It seemed to be working. One hand started to slide through, as though the walls had turned into Jello.

Trembling again, the older woman tried to aim her arrow at the woman who was pushing through her barrier. Kagome opened her eyes, looking at the threat. "I don't want to kill you, I really don't, so please don't make me."

"You are tainted. Evil. It is my duty to destroy you."

"Onegai." Kagome felt the hilt of the dagger in her hand. It would hurt to grab it, but only for an instant as she threw her weapon. "I don't like to kill, especially not a miko, but you are threatening my family."

"You call these monsters your family? Do you know what that girl has created with that youkai? It is disgusting!" The arrow was released, and froze in mid air in front of the younger woman.

"I tried." The arrow disappeared in a puff of energy. Kagome's scalded hand closed around the hilt of her dagger and threw it hard at the woman. Her opponent threw up both hands, stopping the dagger with a pink glow of her own.

Her hands clenched into fists, Kagome threw all of her strength into forcing that dagger to move forward. The older miko had more practice, but she was certain that she had more power. Seeing the dagger shift away from the older woman, she grabbed onto the last of her resources.

----

Leaping away from the fray, Sesshomaru turned his head to find his mate. She was caught in a battle of strength with the old woman, and he could now feel his own energy leaking away. This had happened before, and it had not ended well for him. He turned to make his way to the two mikos that were doing battle inside of a pink barrier.

----

A new surge of power ripped through Kagome, familiar but not her own. The older woman hissed and tried to draw back as the merged youki and miko energies joined the battle over the dagger. Closing her eyes and dropping to her knees, Kagome forced the dagger through the opposition, burying it in the older woman's throat. With a gurgle, she fell off of her horse, dead before she hit the ground.

Slowly uncurling her fingers, Kagome felt blood on the palms of her hands. 'I won't be able to yell at Mizuki about that anymore.' The barrier around her collapsed with the death of the miko, and the horse was now free to run away from the scene. The world was spinning as she tipped onto her side.

Strong hands closed around her, pulling her up into a strong embrace. "Miko."

Cracking her eyes open against the nausea that threatened to overwhelm her, Kagome managed a smile. "Youkai."

"You should refrain from borrowing this Sesshomaru's power without warning."

Closing her eyes again, Kagome blew a raspberry at him. "Next time you can deal with the miko, and I'll run off and pick on the helpless youkai."

There was definite exasperation aimed at her through the bond as Sesshomaru scanned the skies for either of the two dragons. Once she was safely out of the way he could return to the fight. He found them, but he was not amused to see them both attacking the youkai forces that he had abandoned to rescue his mate. "How long are they to be grounded for?"

Kagome's eyes snapped open as she realized what her mate was seeing. "They are never coming out of their rooms again!"

----

Stretching her right arm, Rin felt life returning to her body. Ah-Un was right there, and the battle was not over yet. Ignoring the questions from her siblings, she vaulted to her own dragon, drawing her remaining katana. "You two stay in the air, I am going to help."

"Rin-neechan!" Twin yells were ignored as Ah-Un dived back into the fray. Twin blasts ripped through the attacking youkai as the dragon passed just over their heads.

"She's hurt! We should stay with her!" Katsuro turned back to meet his sister's gaze.

"Are you insane? Do you have any idea what our parents would do to us for disobeying them like that?" Mizuki stared at her brother before turning her eyes back to Rin. "But she is hurt."

"Mama said stay on the dragon, and stay in the air. Rin-neechan said stay in the air. Father said do not fight. What if Shou is the one fighting?"

Sapphire eyes unfocused as she ran scenarios through her mind. "We will still get into trouble, but we may live through it."

"Let's go then!"

"Shou, can you help Ah-Un?"

The adolescent dragon hesitated, spinning figure eights in the sky as he watched the mature dragon blast through youkai and dodge the spears thrown at him. Ah-Un was hit with a spear, drawing out a loud roar as he blasted at the youkai beneath him. Steeling himself, Shou echoed the roar and dived into battle with the two pups squealing and hanging on for dear life.

Rin turned her head and stared in horror and admiration as Shou dove in. He roared again, blasting shards of ice that cut like knives. The targets ducked away as the attack sliced through skin and armor.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Rin brought Ah-Un alongside Shou, who was making another pass and completely disorganizing the forces.

"Nothing! It's Shou!" Katsuro yelled, waving his empty hands in the air. It had been pointless to try and bridle Shou, since he would just change sizes to get rid of it. He was strictly a voice command mount, and the pup would use that to his advantage.

"Why do I not believe you, Katsuro?" Peeling away from them, Rin sent Ah-Un down to take full advantage of the chaos that Shou was creating.

"We are going to be in so much trouble." Mizuki hung on to her brother as Shou shot upwards, dodging the attacks that were now being aimed at him. High in the sky, he circled and looked for the best way to cause more damage. "Oh look, father is watching us."

"Oh no." Katsuro peered down to where he could see his father holding his mother. "We are never going to be allowed outside of our rooms again. Hey Shou, I think we should just stay up here for awhile. Okay?"

"You know father can just come up here and get us, correct?"

"Hai, but it will take a bit longer."

Father was moving to the palace, taking mother with him. The siblings watched as mother was tucked out of sight and the taiyoukai returned to the fight.

----

Between the dragons in the sky and the rather vicious hawk and inu youkai helping to defend the walls, the youkai forces quickly agreed with their ningen counterparts that this was a bad idea. The retreat was no more organized then the first one, and was harassed by a two headed dragon that wanted revenge for the spear wound in his leg.

Merkamou shook his hair out of his eyes, grimacing at the dried blood on his face. From his perch on the wall he could see Rin chasing the last of the attackers off. His heart was still racing from the sight of his mate lying still in the grass. It had been a horrible moment between seeing her and reaching her side, not sure if she was already dead. Now she was back in the battle, and things were as they should be.

"Any sighting of the exiled hawk?" Sesshomaru appeared at his side as though through magic.

"No." The hawk crossed his arms and looked over the carnage. "I am not surprised that she was not in the fighting. She is probably in hiding somewhere."

Sesshomaru sniffed lightly. "Where is Yuriko?"

"What do you smell, Sesshomaru?"

"Blood. Inside of the palace."

"Kuso." Merkamou dropped off of the wall and ran through the corridors of the palace with Sesshomaru at his heels. Soon he could smell the blood as well, but he did not smell Yuriko's. It was very little comfort, but he would take it. Screams were echoing to him, and those did sound like his daughter

Sliding to a stop in front of the room where his daughter had been kept, he found dead guards laying everywhere. His mother was holding a fighting Yuriko by the hair, backing away from the look on her son's face with two of her own allies at her back. "Come towards me and I will kill her."

Sesshomaru sized up the situation. The female could probably kill the chick before he could kill her, so he remained still. Next to him Merkamou clenched his fists.

"Mother, what are you doing?"

"There will be no hanyous in this family." The Lady Sumi twisted Yuriko's hair, making her scream louder. "I will not allow such filth to stay in your father's home."

"I will kill you if you harm her, mother."

"You would kill your own mother? Never. You are too soft for that."

A new voice echoed from behind the hawk. "I am not."

The two males behind Sumi turned to face the new threat. Glaring at her son, the old hawk pulled Yuriko tightly to her. "Let me guess, your whore."

"Oh, this will not go well." Merkamou actually flinched when he realized what his mother had said in front of his mate.

The two males moved to stop the attacking ningen, and were cut down for their troubles. Sumi turned her head to see a ningen dressed in black armor, carrying a black katana that was now dripping with blood. Her eyes were as dark as her attire as she growled. "I made a promise to Merkamou, and I am so very happy that I will get to fulfill it."

Caught between the two taiyoukai and an insane ningen, Sumi looked back and forth. Yuriko felt the grip in her hair and on her throat lessen, and decided to put some of her first lessons into use.

"Lemme go!" Yuriko stomped on her grandmother's foot and dug her little talons into the arm that had trapped her. She slammed her shoulder into the older woman, slamming her into the wall, and bit her.

"Ow, you little monster!" Sumi let go and jumped away from the vicious little hawk. Merkamou dived in to grab Yuriko, burying her face in his chest.

"Do not call my daughter that."

Sumi slowly turned, belatedly realizing that she had jumped towards the insane ningen. Rin gave her a rather feral looking smile. "So nice to meet you, Lady Sumi. Merkamou, get Yuriko out of here."

"Hai, merlin." The hawk hesitated for half a heartbeat before leaving with his daughter. Sesshomaru stayed.

The katana slashed out, slicing the older female from shoulder to hip. She dropped to the ground, screaming, as the poison ate into her. Rin slammed her katana through her opponent's chest, pinning her to the ground. "I understand that hawks do not deal with poison particularly well. If this does not do the job, I am certain that Sesshomaru-sama will assist me."

"Hai." Sesshomaru looked quite bored as the hawk in front of him squirmed and screamed.

Breathing deeply, Rin tried to block out the noise. She was not a cold hearted person, and the sounds were driving her insane, but because of her the ningens would never forget today. There would always be resentment towards the Lord of the South. To say nothing about trying to kill her daughter, her mate, and destroy her home.

The screams were dropping to weak, gurgling moans. The exterminator twitched to end the suffering, her eyes going to Sesshomaru. The inu-youkai looked at her, then gestured with his head. He wanted Rin to leave.

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama." Rin asked no questions as she walked around the dying female, moving towards the courtyard where her family was waiting for her.

The inu-youkai looked down at the female, who was still glaring up at him. 'Pack should never attack pack, especially pups. This creature has no business glaring at this Sesshomaru.'

With a quick gesture and some poison, Sesshomaru ensured that even in death the hawk would never glare at anyone again.

----

"No, Kagome-chan. You do not want to look for him."

Kagome kept her hands clenched at her sides. She could feel how furious her mate was, and the cold pleasure he was taking in harming that female. It was all she could do to avoid throwing up when she caught a glimpse of what was going on. "I know, Rin-chan. I just want him to be done already."

"She was most of the way gone when I left. It will not be long." Rin rubbed her friend's shoulders as she sat next to her, Yuriko in her lap. Mizuki and Katsuro were on Kagome's other side, offering silent support even as they worried about their punishment to come. Merkamou was a short distance away, directing some of the clean up.

Closing her eyes, Kagome took deep breaths as she forced her body to not rebel. There was a flash of awareness from her bond, and suddenly Sesshomaru was coming back. There was concern, and an ever so tiny amount of guilt as he stepped into the courtyard. He had Rin's katana with him, and Kagome was relieved to see that he had wiped it off. "Hey, wait a minute. That should be rejecting the daylights out of you."

"And why would it do that? I helped to create it." Sesshomaru handed the katana to Rin before dropping down to look in Kagome's eyes. His voice was the softest whisper. "Koishii?"

"It's alright. Just try not to do that unless you really, really have to. My stomach just can't take it." Trying to force a smile, Kagome stared into those amber eyes and let herself just be lost for a moment. 'So he's got some bad habits. I can work with that. I think.'

The amber eyes turned to the two pups huddled next to their mother. Both sets of ears dropped down until they all but disappeared, while the two heads ducked down into their shoulders.

"Well."

Mizuki swallowed, ready to explain as best she could, but Katsuro beat her to it. "We were worried about Rin-neechan, and nobody said anything about Shou fighting."

Kagome already had her finger up, ready to argue, but stopped and thought back. "I knew I forgot something."

Sesshomaru growled low, making both of his pups drop down again.

"We knew you would be angry, but we wanted to protect Rin-neechan. That seemed more important at the time." Mizuki kept her eyes on the ground as she spoke.

The growl evaporated. Even Kagome looked up in surprise at the sudden silence.

"And you should protect your pack."

"But you know what we meant, and you disobeyed us anyways!" It was almost impossible for Kagome to stay mad at the two dejected looking pups. 'They really were just trying to help their sister.'

"Hai, Mama." Both of the voices were little more then whispers.

"And you are both losing Shou riding privileges for one moon, since you obviously aren't ready to deal with that responsibility."

The two pups looked at each other, then up to their mother. Both pairs of ears slowly came up as hope was rekindled. "Hai, Mama."

"I'm still tempted to lock you both in your rooms until you're 300. You both just attract trouble."

"Are you certain it is them?" Sesshomaru did not stick around to hear Kagome's response, but instead was off to discuss things with Merkamou.

"Arrogant bastard."

"Language, Kagome-chan!" Rin had both of her hands clapped over Yuriko's ears, and Mizuki had her hands over Katsuro's.

"What, it's not like I haven't heard that one. It's Mama's favorite." Katsuro waved at his sister's hands. "And I heard what the Captain called her the last time she skipped out of practice, but it all kind of blurs together after the whole fathered by a . . . "

Kagome clapped her hand over Katsuro's mouth. "Not in front of your niece!"

----

The walls were whole again, and the bodies had been removed. Sesshomaru stood with Merkamou and Rin, looking over the repairs. Assuming that no more mikos attempted to break in, they should be secure.

Off in the distance Kagome could be seen sitting on a rock, enjoying the view. She had been rather distant since the attack, and Sesshomaru did not like it. Without saying a word to Rin or Merkamou, he dropped off of the wall and set out after his mate. He would know what was causing this problem.

'Okay, I know that hawk deserved it, but it just wasn't fun to get to see it. It's not like he was out picking a fight, that bitch had Yuriko. And he was doing Rin a favor, getting her out of there. I just don't want to see it up close, and feel that he enjoys it. I know what he is, and I can deal with that. As long as it is just that little bit removed. But how can I explain that to him. It's not something he will understand. Sometimes we are just so different.' Kagome gazed off into the horizon, feeling her heart change its rhythm. Sesshomaru was coming. 'And you know what? I still love him. What a mess. I'm starting to make my head hurt. That's what probably got his attention, and not in a way I want.'

"Miko. Stop that."

'Ding, ding, ding. Two points for Kagome.' The miko looked over her shoulder, smiling at Sesshomaru. "Stop what, youkai?"

For a moment Sesshomaru could clearly see the girl that had yelled at him for trying to kill her. She had used the same stance to tell that miko off that she had used all of those years ago to damage his armor. Although she was now an adult, the years had simply tempered her like a fine blade. The same long hair was blowing in the breeze, but the bright eyes were smiling at him instead of throwing challenges. After using her powers that much, she still smelled of purifying power and Sesshomaru was reminded yet again of what she was. His natural enemy.

"You're thinking too hard, Sesshomaru." Kagome turned to face him. "What's bothering you?"

"I intended the same question for you." Oddly hesitant, Sesshomaru stopped just out of reach and watched her. She may not be able to kill him, but she could still be a threat when she chose to be.

Closing her eyes, Kagome let the wind play through her hair for a long moment. "It's hard when you do stuff like that."

"The hawk."

"Hai. I could never do something like that, and having to feel what you feel while you do it, and having to see glimpses of it . . . "

There was a tense silence. Sesshomaru had not realized that she was picking up that much from him, or that she could not just block out what he was seeing.

"I know what you are, Sesshomaru, and I don't want you to change that." The eyes opened and looked up to him.

"And I do not want you to change. I will try to show more restraint, so that you do not have to experience things in such detail."

'Hey, that was almost an apology! Not bad.' Kagome gave him a bright smile, feeling the effect it had on him.

The inu-youkai stepped forward, moving into her reach so that he could run the back of a finger down her cheek. The small show of affection made Kagome shiver, catching his wrist so she could hold the hand against her cheek.

"It was concerning when you withdrew."

Shock showed plainly on Kagome's face. "I'm not going anywhere, Sesshomaru. You know that's not even an option."

"Of course."

Rolling her eyes, the little miko grabbed onto his arm and pulled him in close. Grabbing his haori in her free hand she pulled him down for a kiss. "I'm not going anywhere because I don't want to. One day you are going to figure out that I actually love you, you arrogant bastard."

"Perhaps."

"Baka." Kagome kissed him again, running her tongue along one of his fangs. His arms slipped around her, pulling her up tight against him. With the sun shining down on her and his hair under her fingers, it felt like heaven.

The inuyoukai broke away reluctantly. "We are about to be interrupted."

"Nani?" Kagome looked around, seeing two pups running across the grass.

"Mama! Father! Merkamou and Rin-neechan said that you were out here!" Katsuro reached them first, just ahead of his sister. "We're all packed, just like you told us to be. Can Shippou come and stay for a visit? His uncle said he could."

"Of course." Kagome tried to walk towards her son, but her mate was not letting go. "Um, Sesshomaru?"

The arm around her waist tightened in response, pulling her back to rest against his chest.

"Oh, father, you need to let Mama go so she can talk to Shippou's uncle." Katsuro grabbed onto one of Kagome's arms and started to tug. "Oi, Ki-chan, give me a hand with this."

Shrugging her shoulders, Mizuki took the other arm. "Rin-neechan needed to talk to Mama anyways. It is time to head back up to the palace."

Sesshomaru growled a bit at his pups, pulling Kagome back. The two pups growled in return, pulling harder.

"I am not a tug toy! All of you, let me go!" Kagome struggled as her family continued to pull.

"Give us back our Mama!" Katsuro and Mizuki dug their heels in, pulling hard on Kagome's arms.

"No." Sesshomaru stood perfectly still, quite amused to see his offspring struggling to free their mother from his grasp.

"If you guys dislocate my shoulders I'm going to be very, very angry!"

----

"That is your family, not mine." Merkamou sat with Rin and Yuriko on the wall of the compound, watching as Sesshomaru's family fought over the miko.

"I know, I know." Rin tucked Yurkio's head under her chin. "At least this one is well behaved."

"Then it is for the best that they must return so quickly. Less chance to contaminate our offspring."

Sesshomaru had suddenly let go of Kagome, and was now watching with a bland expression as his family sorted themselves out from their heap on the ground.

"I think that Yuriko should be an only child."

Merkamou nodded slowly as Kagome tackled Katsuro before he could jump on his sister. "Hai, merlin."


	65. Matchmaker: Epilogue

A/N: First things first, I'm not dead! I'm jet lagged, sick, and broke, but Vegas did not kill me. I bet you guys were starting to wonder. Also, you read the chapter title correctly. This is it for Matchmaker. And it got nominated for Best Comedy in the IY Fanguild! I'm so proud! Does it stand a snowball's chance in hell? Not really, comedy is a tough category and I get angsty too often, but whatever. I'm still thrilled. Q&A at the end of this. 65 chapters and I still own nothing.

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"Mizuki! Katsuro! Where are you guys?"

The two pups held their breath as Kagome walked just underneath them. Safe in the branches of a tree, they watched as their mother continued to hunt for them. Once she was out of earshot, Katsuro took a great gasp of air.

"You know, as soon as father figures out she's looking for us . . . "

"It will be over before he finds out." Mizuki watched until she was sure her mother had not caught them. "Go."

The two inu hanyous dropped to the ground. Their prey was nearby, and despite their mother's attempts they would finish their hunt. Mizuki took to the lead as they snuck through the gardens, following their noses. The prey was sitting still, oblivious to the threat. Katsuro and Mizuki split up, circling around on opposite sides. At a nod from Mizuki, they both leapt.

"Ah!" Yuriko and Shippou tried to run, but ended up running into each other instead. When Katsuro slammed into them the whole tangled mess ended up at Mizuki's feet.

Shippou popped out of the tangle, grabbing the aloof female and dragging her into the fray. Shou took to the air, getting clear of the mess as his mistress was pulled down. It was a tangled mess of claws, feet, and elbows as the youngsters wrestled. Yuriko had Katsuro by the ears, making him yelp in pain.

"That was not nice, Katsuro!" Sitting on the pup's back, Yuriko twisted an ear. "Say you're sorry!"

"Sorry! Sorry! Let go!"

Mizuki dropped Shippou as she went to her brother's rescue. Katsuro let out a final yelp as Yuriko was knocked off of him. Rubbing his sore ears, he watched as his sister wrestled with the younger hanyou. Shippou had recovered, and was not going to pass up an opportunity like this. Tackling his best friend from behind, the two males fell into the two females, recreating the tangled heap.

"What are you doing?"

Everything froze when the miko's voice ripped through the gardens. All eyes looked up to find Kagome glaring at them. The guilty youngsters untangled themselves and stood in a neat line in front of the annoyed woman.

"Didn't I just finish saying that I don't want to see anymore of this?"

"Hai, Mama." "Hai, Kagome-chan."

"And didn't I say that the next time I saw fighting you would all be helping in the stables?"

"Hai, Mama." "Hai, Kagome-chan."

"Stables. Now."

The guilty party marched to the stables, where they were delivered to a youkai with instructions to make them very tired. Kagome left them doing heavy lifting and cleaning.

"Where were they?" Rin looked up from the flower arrangement she was working on.

"Fighting with Shippou and Yuriko, of course." Kagome dropped down to sit next to her friend.

"Ah, so they are on cleaning duty."

"Not that it will do any good. Too much energy there. They even had Mizuki in it this time. She usually doesn't get involved in the actual fighting."

"Great. Yurkio-chan would love to take a swing at her."

"Oh, yes, they were having a grand time when I found them."

Rin rearranged her flowers again, smiling at the images in her mind.

"What did the healer say?"

The exterminator's hands faltered slightly. "He says that it is probably from my long history of battle, possibly from being poisoned."

"And what can he do?"

"Nothing, Kagome-chan. He cannot give me a new heart, so I will make do with the one I have. Most days I do not even notice, but Merkamou can hear it."

"That must drive him insane."

"Hai." Rin pushed the vase of flowers away. "He did not take the news well. We have not spoken since I told him."

"I'll talk to him." Kagome gave Rin's shoulder a squeeze before taking off to find Merkamou.

The hawk was easy to find. He was in Rin's old room, glaring at nothing.

"Merkamou."

"Kagome." The gold eyes did not look her way.

"I just heard."

"The healer says that if she slows down her heart will not bother her as much. Rest, he says. As if that were a possibility."

"It's not as bad as all that. She may do it."

"Slowing down will kill her just as surely as her faulty heart."

Kagome sighed. "She is a ningen, Merkamou. Our bodies fail. She has lived the lives of ten people, and now her body is paying the price."

"And what of you, miko?" Merkamou's glare swung to the little female.

"Nani?"

"You have lived quite the life, but you look very similar to when we met. Why have you not aged as she has? Why is your body not failing? You helped to raise her, so why is she dying while you are unchanged?"

"It's because I'm a miko bound to a youkai. Believe me, I've been looking for a way to do something like this for Rin-chan, but I haven't found one. If she was a miko it would be a start, but hawks don't bond like inu do."

"So you will give up on her because she is just a ningen. You are no better then the youkai." He regretted the words the second they were out of his mouth.

Kagome's eyes flashed as she closed the distance and punched Merkamou. "What the hell do you think I've been doing, bastard? Do you think I want her to die? I have tried and tried, but time is up and I still don't have an answer!"

Merkamou rubbed his jaw, retreating from the furious woman. The miko had a mean right hook, but he had deserved it. "I know, Kagome. I did not mean it. I am just so frustrated!" He slammed a fist through a table, sending pieces across the floor.

Careful to not upset the taiyoukai further, Kagome caught his sleeve before the destruction could continue.

"What do I do, Kagome?"

"I don't know, Merkamou. You knew this would happen."

"Hai. It is just different now, since it is no longer a distant future. How long does she have now?"

"There's no way to tell. A day, a moon, a year, five years . . . "

"A year."

To Kagome's shock the rebellious taiyoukai dropped to his knees. Catching his shoulders, she hugged him tightly as he dug his talons into the floor. She whispered to him, "Don't regret anything."

"I do not."

"Make sure she knows that."

----

"This is all your fault!" Katsuro glared at his sister as the group of youngsters dragged themselves to the palace.

"And why is that?" Mizuki did not even glance at her brother, but instead concentrated on getting back up to the palace without falling flat on her face.

"You're the one who said that we couldn't just ignore them."

"Katsuro, one of these days you are going to figure out how to say no to Mizuki." Shippou rubbed his own aching arms.

"And what did we do?" Yuriko kept Shippou between herself and Mizuki, not liking the look on the older female's face.

"Mizuki didn't like the comments about the South being better then the West." Closing his eyes, Katsuro gave up the battle and just dropped in the grass. "I'm just going to have a quick nap."

"We will be late." Annoyance flashed across Mizuki's eyes before she reined the reaction back in.

"It's not like I could lift my chopsticks right now anyways." Katsuro opened one eye to look at his sister, smiling. "Come on, Ki-chan. I know you want to take a break as badly as I do."

'It is not Katsuro that needs to learn how to say no.' Trying not to grind her teeth, Mizuki dropped into the grass next to her brother. Shou moved from her arm to curl up on her stomach and soak up the sun. 'But I must admit that this feels very nice.'

There was a loud thump as Shippou dropped down on the other side of Katsuro, and was quickly joined by Yuriko. The peaceful sounds of the wind through the nearby magnolia trees were the only noise, and Mizuki felt exhaustion pulling at her. 'I will just close my eyes for a moment.'

Katsuro heard the instant his sister's breathing changed to sleep. Past Shippou, Yuriko was snoring softly. Perfect. "Shippou."

"Hai."

The two friends snuck away, heading back up to the stables.

"I am so sick of those two fighting." Katsuro rubbed a shoulder. "I never get in trouble for wrestling with you, but those two can be just nasty!"

"Exactly." Shippou handed a bucket to his friend. "The water from the stream would be colder, you know."

"Am I annoyed enough to go all the way down there, when the koi pond is right near by . . . Yeah, let's go."

The two females were still lying in the sun when Shippou and Katsuro returned. Two pairs of green eyes glinted with mischief as they tip toed closer. Katsuro whispered to his friend, "On the count of three: one, two, three!"

Yuriko screeched as the ice cold water hit her, leaping into the air. Katsuro echoed her as his sister hit the bottom of the bucket and threw the water backwards and onto him. Giving him an evil smile, she walked back up to the palace completely dry.

Shippou was rolling. "That was so great!" Hugging his sides, the kitsune tried to breathe while laughing hysterically at his soaked friends.

Wringing out her hair, Yuriko stomped back up to the palace. "The least she could have done was tell me that you two were coming, instead of letting me get soaked. That brat!"

"How could she be mad at Mizuki when we're the ones who soaked her?" Katsuro was wringing out his own hair.

"She's talented. Everything is Mizuki's fault, even when we're at home. Come on, if you get changed quick enough Kagome-chan may not even notice that you got soaked."

----

"Mizuki."

"Hai, father?" Mizuki looked up from her reading.

"Why were you fighting."

Gulp. "She said something objectionable."

Sesshomaru stared at his daughter. "She is much younger then you."

"Hai." Mizuki looked at the floor. "And her family is our ally."

"Hai."

"I will stop." Pushing her reading away, the pup tried to keep her temper under control.

"What."

"She is aggravating." There was a faint chuckle, surprising Mizuki. She swung her eyes up to her father, and a new thought hit her. "Like Merkamou-sama can be."

"Hai."

"And you have only seriously tried to kill him once."

"But have been tempted many times."

"Exactly." Mizuki sighed. "Perhaps I can convince her to be less annoying."

"I have had some small success with Merkamou. Find a common goal. Or threat."

"Hai. Arigato, father."

----

Two figures moved in unison across the grass. Yuriko was side by side with her mother, mimicking her movements as they went through a basic drill. Both had the same grace and controlled strength. They were dressed in similarly cut clothing, with Rin in dark green and Yuriko in the fiery reds and golds she preferred.

'I consider myself fortunate to know one fighter with the merlin's skill, and now it looks like I will know two.' Merkamou stood under a tree and watched as his mate and daughter worked. It was not a fast workout, but a slow one that targeted perfection in every move. Each motion was carefully controlled and in perfect balance. It was more like watching dancing then fighting.

Rin's eyes caught his, a small smile appearing as she continued to work while holding his gaze. The wind played with her hair, trying to pull it free of the jade sticks that kept it out of the way. Merkamou felt his own heart constrict as he watched her with the sun shining on her face.

When she walked over to him, leaving Yuriko to work on her own, it took him a moment to pull his thoughts together. Her pulse was steady now, giving no hint of the times when it would flutter instead of beat.

"Did you talk to Kagome-chan?"

"Hai. I believe it went well, aside from her trying to break my jaw while beating some sense into me."

"I am glad to see that it worked." Rin slipped her katana into its sheath and turned to lean her back against his chest, watching Yuriko. "So, what do you think?"

"About what?"

"Yuriko-chan, of course!"

"Feh, females have no business learning to fight. Let her arrange flowers and play music like she is supposed to and leave the fighting to the males." Merkamou caught Rin's arms before she could clobber him. "She is amazing and you know it. Will you teach her to use two katanas as you do?"

"She does not like it." Giving up the struggle, Rin relaxed against his chest again. "She will probably learn to, since it is useful, but I see her with one very large blade. Like a certain hawk I know."

"She has excellent taste."

"Not only did she inherit your wicked sense of humor, but your taste in clothing and weapons as well. Absolutely gaudy."

"Nonsense. They are all very flattering on her."

Ignoring his last sally, Rin concentrated on her daughter who was working through a faster series of movements. "She will be amazing."

"Hai, that she will, merlin. But what would you expect with breeding like hers?"

"And what a life she will have. With a family like hers she will never need to worry about being alone."

The hawk lord gave the orphan a squeeze. "Never. Even Akane is bewitched by her."

"She will need a happy ending of her own."

"Of course. Kagome is not the only one who can arrange that sort of a thing. I will have my hands full when she comes of age."

Hearing the protective tone in Merkamou's voice, Rin bumped her head against his chest. "You will be worse then Sesshomaru-sama! I think I will need to ask for Kagome-chan's assistance when Yuriko-chan comes of age, or she will never even see a male!"

"I was that age once, and I know what they are thinking. They will not try such things with my daughter."

"And you will be every bit as much of a hypocrite! Have you forgotten some of your behavior with me, o' great and honorable one?"

"That was different."

Rin mumbled under her breath. "Of course it was."

"Are you saying that the advances were not welcome?"

"No, but we cannot just lock Yuriko-chan away to keep her safe."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Damn."

The subject of their discussion stopped and put her hands on her hips. "You know, I can hear you!"

"Oops." Rin blushed. "Just ignore us, Yuriko-chan."

"Honestly, you act like I am deaf or something." Yuriko went back to work.

"Merkamou?"

"Hai, merlin?"

Rin's voice dropped to little more then a shaky whisper. "She will get her happy ending, right? You will make sure?"

Merkamou pulled his mate tight against him, setting his forehead against her hair. "I promise."

----

"What do you want?" Yuriko glared down from the tree where she had been trying to hide from the annoying inu hanyou.

Gritting her teeth, Mizuki forced herself to breathe normally. "I wish for a truce."

"A truce? What do you mean?"

"I mean that your family is allied with mine, and that we should not be fighting."

"And why should I believe you?"

The sapphire eyes went dark at the comment. "I do not lie."

"Okay, okay, take it easy." The hawk dropped to the ground, landing gracefully next to the silver haired female. "Should we have a treaty or something?"

"We will simply stop attacking each other."

"But not the boys?"

"Of course not. How else would they be kept in line?"

A bright smile appeared on Yuriko's face. "Want to give them a real shock?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, if we work together they will never see it coming. And Kagome-chan never said anything about you and me fighting with Shippou and Katsuro."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Why carry water to the boys when we can carry the boys to the water. Can we use Shou?"

"I think I may enjoy this alliance." Prodding Shou awake, Mizuki whispered to him. "Wake up, little one. We have a mission, and I think you will like it."

Shou gave her a disgruntled look while he yawned.

"If you help I will arrange for an extra treat for tonight."

The silver eyes lit up as Shou dropped to the ground and changed sizes. Grabbing Yuriko's hand, Mizuki easily jumped onto his back and pulled the hawk up behind her. "Hold on, Yuriko."

The dragon launched into the air, already tracking the two youngsters that were hiding in the gardens. The sooner he found his prey, the sooner Mizuki would be sneaking treats out of the kitchen for him.

"Sugoi!" Yuriko stretched her arms out to the side, her hair tossing in the breeze. "Arigato, Mizuki!"

'Father was right.' Mizuki tracked the ground, looking for her prey. 'They will think twice before trying to soak us again.'

---

At the palace, Kagome watched as Shou took flight. "I blame you."

"Nani?" Sesshomaru looked over at her.

"They're your pups, and they are at it again."

"So now they are my pups."

"Yes, right now they are your pups. It's not my blood that has them fighting all over the gardens."

"Are you certain? Things were peaceful before your arrival. It would appear to be your influence."

"You need me to keep your life interesting." Kagome made a face before turning back to the gardens. "I better go break this up."

"Leave it."

"Nani? No way! Mizuki got Shou out this time!"

"Which means that they will be distracted for some time yet."

Kagome knew that look. "You've got to be kidding! The next generation is out there trying to obliterate each other and you want to go do _that_?"

Sesshomaru threw Kagome over his shoulder and set off through the palace.

"Put me down this instant, youkai! What do you think you're doing?"

"Enjoying a moment of calm."

"I'm warning you, if you don't put me down this instant I'm going to knock you through – oh!" Kagome's rant broke off as a hand slid up the inside of her thigh. "Well, they'll be okay for a few minutes."

"Hn."

----

-Fin

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Q&A with darkjewel (just answering questions since I won't have my author's notes for awhile)

_Is that it? Are you done with Matchmaker? That was short!_

Yes, it's done. Just tying up some loose threads.

_Wench!_

Yes, I am.

_Is there going to be another one?_

Yes, I am working on Fire and Ice right now. Don't know when it's going to start being posted, a couple of weeks at least. I need to get a good head start to make sure I like where it's going. You guys know I post like a loon once I get started. I'll just stick it on the end of this one, so anyone with an alert on this story will see when it posts.

_Are you just going to let Rin die?_

Rin is a ningen. I consider that to be the most important part of her character. She is a ningen in a youkai world, and holding her own just fine. I will not change what she is just to get the sugar sweet ending. Sorry. Her character is more powerful this way. She got her happy ending. Even Cinderella died of old age.

_You didn't answer my question._

We are back to the whole wench thing.

_What's Fire and Ice about?_

This is still a Kag and Sess story primarily, so we will be sticking to the Western Lands. Mizuki and Katsuro will also be center stage, but I will be bringing in a lot of characters. I have had a request for Koga to return, and I am taking that under serious consideration. Hideaki, Mayu, Isamu, Akira, Merkamou, Yuriko, Shippou, Kumo, Jaken, and Kenshin (the Captain) are all guaranteed at least small spots. Still a romantic comedy.

_Violence?_

Come now, blackXheart, did you even need to ask? Yes, violence. I do try to keep the gag factor down as much as possible.

_Pups! We want more pups!_

We'll see.

_You suck!_

Yes, I do.

_Promise to write another story?_

Yes, I promise. I'm writing on the plane this weekend, and I'm really starting to get into this one. I will post once I'm sure it's really rolling. I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks. Thanks so much for everyone following, for nominating my story, for all of the amazing reviews, and for the recommend on Single Spark, Arryelle (I hope I spelled that right). You guys have done your part, feeding me until I nearly popped, so I will continue to write like a good little author.

---darkjewel


	66. Fire and Ice

A/N: Hi! I'm back yet again. Bet you all thought I'd died. Nope, you're not that lucky. Here is Fire and Ice, the third installment of my great beast. Yes, a romantic comedy. Mostly comedy, come to think of it. And violence! I love my little violent fits. Be patient with seeing all of the characters, I'm going to get to everyone. I'm not sure what the posting schedule is going to be. I'm actually posting sooner then I should, just because I've discovered something interesting. I can't write in a vaccum! I need reinforcement for my behavior. So, here you guys go, and let me have it! Tell me what you think! Oh, I still own nada, zip, zilcho.

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Shou gave a sigh of relief as he sighted the home of the Western Lord. It had been a long time in the field, and civilization sounded wonderful to him. Tonight he would be fed a boar or two and would curl up on Mizuki's pillow to sleep.

His sigh was echoed by the adult silver haired female that rode him. 'I was starting to think we would never catch that band. I cannot complain too much, since I had Shou while the rest of the guard only had themselves for transport.'

One of the soldiers was watching her, and she sent him a cold look.

"Do you see home, Commander?"

"Hai." Mizuki stared him down. 'If I catch him staring at me one more time mother will need to find a new scout.'

Both Mizuki and Shou wanted to race ahead to the palace, but they stayed with the group. Her mind was already on the stack of reports that would be waiting for her and meeting with her parents. His mind was on food and silk sheets.

----

"Again."

The black haired hanyou gritted his teeth, determined to not lose his temper in front of his father – again. Shifting his grip slightly, he lunged again, only to be knocked off of his feet.

'He is frustrated, and will now start to make mistakes.' Sesshomaru stood like a block of ice, no emotion or movement as he waited for his son to try again. "You are too slow."

'As if I couldn't figure that out.' Katsuro picked himself up again, trying not to glare. 'So, if this little move that he's trying to teach me won't work, I guess I'll just make something up.'

Lining himself up again, he charged in exactly the same way as he had the last three times. The icy gold stare never moved as Sesshomaru started to block the exact same attack, but found that the weapon was not there. Katsuro dropped to his knees and slid the last few feet, coming up underneath his father's guard. Sesshomaru caught him by the throat, just as Katsuro set the tip of his own sword against his father's stomach.

"Unsuccessful."

"Hai, but it worked better." Even with his feet now dangling off of the ground, Katsuro smiled as he goaded his father.

"Not well enough."

"It needs some more work, sure, but the other way wasn't working. Would you rather I kept doing the same stupid thing over and over again?"

There was a thump as Sesshomaru dropped his son. "No. You should not do anything stupid to begin with. However, it would be wise to use attacks that result in victory."

"I knew there was something I forgot. I'll work on that part."

"Then I will expect to see improvement tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, then."

Katsuro stayed down as his father left, rubbing his throat. 'Great, now I get to spend all afternoon figuring out ways to trick father. Where is Ki-chan when I really need her?' His aching body protested as he got back to his feet. Leaning against a tree, he tried to think of new and unusual ways to attack, and preferably ones that would work.

----

Shou soared over the grounds, finally free from staying with Mizuki's group. The inu-hanyou stretched her arms over her head, trying to work some of the tension from the last few months out of her body. Father would be waiting for her, but he could simmer until after she had cleaned up and greeted her mother. 'Mama will know I am coming, since I sent a message ahead. This mission was from her, so technically I should see her first.'

A small grumble vibrated through Shou, catching Mizuki's attention. She could see what the dragon was staring at, and her mask slipped away to be replaced with a small smile. "Shou, did you miss Katsuro-kun?"

There was another rumble in reply as Shou aimed for the black haired male, which appeared to be talking to himself. To a ningen he would appear to be in his early twenties, not his true age of just under two hundred. The emerald green eyes were focused on nothing, and his ears were twitching with some repressed emotion. The sight of him waving his sword around only made his sister smile more, since it was obvious he was plotting. From the looks of his clothing, he had been training. His dark green kimono and black hakama were dirty, and his long hair looked mussed.

"Then perhaps we should greet him appropriately."

Swerving off, the dragon dropped down to the ground and out of sight. Mizuki slipped off and let the now tiny Shou wrap around her arm. Slipping through the gardens, she carefully circled around her brother. He was still talking to himself, not paying any attention to his surroundings.

Katsuro finally noticed a rustle of leaves and looked up, searching for the source. The feeling of being watched was making his skin crawl. His hand tightened around his hilt as he peered through the leaves.

Something moved behind him, shaking branches and making him whirl around. Whatever had been watching him from above dropped, driving him down to the ground and pulling an arm behind his back.

"Hello, shatei (2)."

"Ugh." Katsuro struggled for a moment before giving up. "I should've known it was you, Ki-chan."

The voice above him was as flat and emotionless as his father's. "I am delighted to see that you are well."

"And you've certainly been eating well. Would you mind getting off of me?"

"Of course, I do not want to interrupt whatever discussion you were having with yourself." Mizuki jumped clear before her brother could exact revenge.

With a groan Katsuro sat up to watch Shou zip back to roost on Mizuki's shoulders, his job as a distraction completed. His sister was dressed for battle, with a hakama and kimono of heavy white silk. A pattern of dark blue honeysuckles fell from one shoulder to the hem of her outer kimono, a nod to her mother on an outfit that had been selected to resemble her father's. The shining white hair was tightly bound in its usual braid which hung in a thick rope past her waist. The overall effect was of efficiency and cold determination. Katsuro was delighted to see her. "Did you just get back?"

"Hai. Shou wished to greet you."

"Next time he can come by himself and leave my troublesome sister behind." Katsuro grinned as Mizuki pulled her nanginata (1) from behind her back. "Especially if she is still armed."

There was a whistling sound as Mizuki spun her weapon, returning her brother's grin with a smirk. "So the mighty Katsuro-sama is worried about a lowly female?"

"Not at all. I simply wish to avoid being grounded for being too rough on you."

"Impudent brat." Swinging the naginata over her head, Mizuki sent Katsuro skittering backwards. "Last time I was the one to be grounded, and told to never poison my little brother again."

Katsuro stopped the spinning blade with his sword, making Mizuki move back to regain her advantage. "I was in bed for a day and a night from that! Mama was furious!"

Slipping the shaft through her hands, Mizuki shortened her grip and thrust the point at her brother. While he was distracted she swung the weighted end at him, making him drop to the ground. "And father said that the next time you cross me I should put you in bed for two days and nights."

"He would."

Laughing, Mizuki parried her brother's attack, spinning her own weapon again to gain momentum. Katsuro had no intention in giving her that advantage. Slamming his blade into the naginata's arc, he stopped it but had to sacrifice his sword. He tackled his sister with a shoulder to her stomach, forcing a grunt from her as he dragged her down and made her long weapon useless.

"Well, Ki-chan? Do you yield?"

"You are lucky that I am tired and do not feel like facing Mama in a rage. I yield."

"One of these days you need to get back into training. Your good with that thing, but if anyone gets through it you're stuck." The victor offered a hand to pull his sister back to her feet, which she actually accepted.

"Oh yes, and I have so much time for that." Mizuki growled a bit as she retuned her weapon to her back and dusted off her white clothing. "I am a strategist, not a warrior. I fight well enough to help, and with Shou it is more then enough."

Katsuro sheathed his own sword, genuine concern in his eyes. "Ki-chan, you go into battle more often then anyone in the family, and sooner or later you're going to need more then the basics."

"Basics? I would like to see you handle my naginata without cutting off a limb or two."

"There is more then just being able to handle a weapon! What's wrong with being a fighter and a strategist at the same time?"

"That is your strength, not mine. And what discussion were you having with yourself before I interrupted?"

"You are changing the subject."

"Hai." Her features set into the impassive mask that she almost always wore.

'I'll try again later. I can't stand worrying about her every time she goes off on some mission for father. One day she is going to get knocked off of Shou or someone is going to get that thing away from her and she will be in serious trouble.' Katsuro looked up at the sky with a bored expression. "Don't even try that look on me. I know better."

The blue eyes stared at him with the icy gaze that reminded him so much of their father.

'Just creepy when she pulls that.' "Fine. It's something you can help me with, anyways. Father was trouncing me again, and I was doing something a bit unusual . . . "

"You were making it up as you went along."

"Whatever. I'm supposed to have some new ideas figured out by tomorrow. Hopefully ones that will work."

"And Shippou cannot assist?"

The initial response from Katsuro was to laugh as he sat with his back against the tree. "Oh, he's always willing to help, but strategy requires a certain amount of planning. Not a strength of his."

"But trickery is. And he would make a better subject to test your ideas on, since he is better with a sword." Feeling like an animal when it hears a trap snap shut, Mizuki saw her brother pull out the puppy dog eyes. 'Every time. He gets me every time with that look.' "Let me clean up and report, then I can help you. I will need to find my sword anyways. You should consult with Shippou as well, since trickery and sword play are more his fields of expertise. Will this work for you?"

"Perfect! Arigato, Ki-chan!"

Mizuki gave him a real smile. "And this is why I am the big sister."

With Shou draped across her shoulders she moved to the palace as the tension leaked away. She always felt better after seeing her brother. With Katsuro and Shou she could drop her guard and just be Mizuki. With Mama she would keep some distance, so that she did not feel overwhelmed by the demonstrative miko. Father was her confidant in almost everything, but it was always in analytical terms. The rest of the world would see the icy mask she had learned at her father's knee. Only with her brother and the companion that rarely left her side could she just be herself, with no other expectations or demands.

Her room was waiting for her, and Mizuki sent silent thanks to Kumo. Of course her mother's assistant had made sure that her room was aired and that her things were ready for her.

"I am going to the baths, Shou. Do you wish to come with me, or are you ready for sleep?"

Shou yawned at her, blinking sleepy eyes. Smirking, Mizuki dropped him onto her bed. "You are the laziest creature."

The dragon grumbled at her as he rolled on his back and promptly fell asleep. It was quick business for Mizuki to gather her things and head to the bath house. Once she had slipped into the hot water any thought of hurrying to report evaporated.

"I thought you might be in here."

One sapphire eye opened, watching the new visitor to the baths. "I did not think you would wish to see me smelling like Shou."

"He smells like a bed of flowers compared to Ah-Un." Kagome was dressed in a robe and carrying her bath things. "I figured you might want to take care of two things at the same time."

"An excellent idea, Mama."

The miko slipped into the water with a sigh. "I can remember what that first bath felt like after camping for weeks on end. Pure heaven."

"Hai." Mizuki let her eye slide shut as she tipped her head back to rest on the side. "Would you care to hear my report?"

"Just give me my version of it."

"We won, and I did not kill any subordinates."

"Good job, sugar."

The one eye cracked back open. "Mama . . . "

"I know, I know. Anything else interesting?"

"No. Other then the length of time necessary to run them to ground, it was very routine."

"I was starting to get worried. Three months is a long time for you to hunt something."

Stretching out her neck, Mizuki listened to her joints pop with released tension. "What they lacked in bravery and strength they made up for in speed and luck."

"But they won't be burning any more villages, right?"

Opening both eyes, the daughter looked to her mother. "No. They will not kill anyone else that you have taken under your protection."

"Are you mad that you were sent to kill bandits that were attacking ningens?" Kagome met her daughter's chilly gaze.

"I am half ningen. It is no concern to me who you choose to protect in these lands. I only wish that they had not greeted their rescuer with insults."

_Filthy! Tainted! Mongrel!_

The names that the villagers had used were nothing new, but it had been unexpected. They hated her more then the youkai she commanded. Mizuki had rather expected more peaceful attitude after saving them, but such was the way with ningens.

Kagome put her arm around her daughter's shoulder. She had been learning to read Sesshomaru for over two hundred years now, and the practice was put to good use with her now adult daughter. Mizuki was still from her bloodline, and Kagome knew the rejection had hurt her. "You are not disgusting."

The hanyou allowed the embrace for a moment before straightening. "I know, Mama."

"Have you seen your brother or father?"

"I have seen Katsuro. I will be helping him with strategy after I have met with father."

"Sesshomaru will be glad to have you back. Just wait until you see the work that's piled up. There's a whole new batch of recruits for you to deal with, and a member of my guard is looking to retire."

"I will exact revenge on the Captain for setting me in his former position." Mizuki slowly massaged her temples. "New recruits are simple enough. Some yelling with a well placed death or two and order will be maintained. Replacing a member of your guard . . ."

"I left a list of suggestions on your desk, and I actually had some volunteers. It seems that they consider my guard an honor, even if they never guard me."

"Because you need their protection so much, Mother Miko. It is a good thing that you have found other uses for them, even if it does place me in the field for months at a time."

"Sorry about that, jo-chan. I really didn't want you to be away for so long."

"But it needed to be done, it is your guard, and I am the Commander of your guard."

"Commander. I'm still not used to that."

Mizuki smiled a bit. "Neither am I, Mama. Kenshin-sensei was so eager to tell me that he actually ran to find me before father could tell me first."

"My little pup is a Commander. Oh, it makes a mother proud."

There was an ambitious gleam to the sapphire eyes as they studied the ceiling. "There is no need to be proud until I have made General."

"And I fully expect you to do that, probably before you're three hundred. You'll be the first female general I've ever heard of."

"Hai." A slightly feral smile joined the ambitious gleam.

Noticing her now pruney fingers, Kagome pulled herself out of the water. "Come on, sugar. We can both go find your father and let him know how your hunt went."

"Mama, do not call me that."

----

"This is impossible, Ki-chan."

Mizuki lowered her sword, still watching her brother closely. "What do you mean, shatei?"

"I mean that I will never be able to get past father, so this whole thing is pointless! I'm a hanyou, and he's the most powerful taiyoukai around." A rock tumbled away as Katsuro took out his frustrations with a savage kick. "He's too smart to fall for any of my tricks, and too fast for me to outmaneuver. Let's not even get started on the whole strength thing. I might as well just surrender tomorrow."

"This is not at all like your usual self. What is the true problem?"

"How can I be the heir to the Western Lands? How could I ever hope to take father's place?"

"You have been listening to the gossip." With a fluid movement the rarely used sword was slipped into its sheath.

"I don't need to listen to the gossip. I see it everyday when father tries to train me. I can't hold the Western Lands, Ki-chan. You should've been the heir. Everyone says so."

"Why? Because I look like him?"

Katsuro slammed his own sword into its sheath, glaring at the horizon. "No. Well, not entirely. It's because you're a leader, and everyone is afraid of you. At least that's something. I don't even have that."

"They are afraid because I made that choice. You could do the same."

"No I couldn't. I'm not made that way."

"That was your choice." Seeing Katsuro's depressed look made Mizuki soften her stance and her voice. "It is not the answer you are looking for. I would rather not have to use fear, for it will fail when put to a true test. You will lead because they wish to follow. That will be your strength."

"You think so? Would they follow me?" Katsuro's ears lifted as a bit of his spark returned.

"They will. Especially with my support, to herd any that wanders out of line."

"You know, between the two of us we could hold the Western Lands. You could handle the tactical for me, and advise me when I want to do something really stupid. I fight well enough, when I have a plan, and I'm good at getting people to do what I want."

"I am well aware of your manipulative skills. I will stand with you, shetai. No one will be able to bring you down with me behind you."

"Arigato, Ki-chan. I guess two hanyous can equal one taiyoukai."

"Or one miko."

"That works, too." Katsuro slowly turned his head to look at his sister. "Two hanyous to equal one taiyoukai. I think I just figured out how we are going to take on father."

"I do not like the look in your eye."

----

A/N: (1) naginata – Mizuki's weapon of choice, the naginata is a long oak shaft between five and eight feet long with a blade at the end. The blade is usually between 10" and two feet, and is made in a similar style to a katana. It can be used to thrust as well as cut. The other end of the shaft is weighted, usually with a metal endcap that can also be used as a weapon. It's sometimes called a sword on a stick. :-) It is used with sweeping movements, and gets its advantage in range and in the momentum that can be created. The size is based on height and personal preference, and Mizuki is about 5'9", so the grand total is a little over seven feet long. Convenient on a dragon, ne? Yes, it was the traditional weapon of ladies of the samurai class, but I picked it more for Shou and the neatness factor. Just looks like something she would like. Courtesy of Southern California Naginata Federation, http // www. scnf. Org / history2. html

(2) shatei – my younger brother


	67. Rescue

A/N: Well, GuardianAmy has a point. This is a very long story. In my own defense I am planning on throwing Kags and Sesshy right into the middle, and I have thought up something fun to do, but yes it is the same universe and some of the OCs are going to be stage center. As with any long story, it is difficult to avoid being repetitive and I may have bowed to a plot bunny or two. I'm going to let you guys decide. I'll post what I have, and if the reviews say stop with Matchmaker, I'll stop. I apologize if this chapter is a bit pokey, I'm still setting up the characters and such.

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"Father is going to see this coming."

"Nonsense, Ki-chan. Just act like nothing is going on. You're good at that." Katsuro paced a bit, looking for any sign of Sesshomaru.

Mizuki folded her legs underneath her, sitting on the ground. Her eyes were closed, and she almost looked as though she had fallen asleep while waiting. Katsuro's constant foot steps were the only sound as they waited. "Stop that."

"I can't help it. I'm nervous."

"As if I could not smell that."

"Arigato, Ki-chan."

----

'If that were not Mizuki, I would suspect a trap.' Sesshomaru watched his son pace back and forth, his tension obvious. There was no doubt that his son had put something together, and there was also no doubt that it would not be honorable or straightforward. 'Still, what is she doing?'

"Katsuro."

Both pairs of ears swiveled at the sound of their father's voice. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, watching his son.

"Hello, father. How're you feeling today?" The bravado was paired with one of Katsuro's famous smiles, even as his knuckles went white around the hilt of his still sheathed sword.

"Mizuki." The amber eyes locked onto his daughter, looking for a weapon or other sign that this was a threat.

"Father."

"Well?"

"Amusement."

"Hn." 'There are no weapons, and while she is not telling the whole truth she is not lying. 'Perhaps she truly is here simply to be amused.' Sesshomaru refocused on his son. "Are you prepared?"

"Of course. When have I ever not been prepared?" There was a hiss as Katsuro pulled his sword.

The ignored female tried to keep her body calm, and tried to keep her eyes off of the naginata hidden above her head.

Without warning Sesshomaru attacked, making Katsuro fall back and defend himself desperately. He was not interested in waiting around to see what Katsuro had planned, and would finish this as quickly as possible.

Her mind slipping into the gear she used in battle, Mizuki watched for her opportunity.

Katsuro had been forced to one knee and the taiyoukai was looking to quickly finish this exercise when he heard a whistling sound. A quick twist got him out of the way of the thrown dagger, but made it even more difficult to dodge the oncoming naginata. His new attacker followed him as he tried to leap clear, keeping her weapon in motion.

"Treachery, daughter?"

"Secret weapon." Mizuki felt the corner of her mouth quirk in answer to her father's smirk as she exchanged blows with him.

It was actually a surprise for Sesshomaru to be attacked by his daughter. He could scarcely remember the last time he had seen her practice, since she had usually worked with the Captain while he had concentrated on Katsuro. Now he could hear his son coming up behind him, trying to trap him between the two siblings. 'If they wish to play this way.'

Katsuro nearly knocked his sister's head off when their father turned into a ball of light and streaked away. Blinking in confusion, he looked around while Mizuki went rigid. She moved so that they were back to back, looking for the threat.

"Ki-chan?"

The soft whisper almost made Mizuki jump in the tension. "Hai?"

"Where'd he go?"

"I do not know."

Silence stretched out as the two hanyou scanned the area for Sesshomaru.

"Ki-chan?"

"Hai?"

"We're in trouble, aren't we?"

"Hai."

"This is going to hurt, isn't it?"

"Hai."

Evidently Katsuro could not deal with the silence.

"Ki-chan."

"Shh."

There was movement in the distant trees, and Mizuki tried to focus on it. 'What would father be doing that far away from us?'

'If they wish to use all available resources, so shall I.' Sesshomaru leapt.

The sound of snapping wood gave them a fraction of second's warning before a gigantic white dog leapt from the trees to land nearby. Both hanyous' eyes slowly traveled from the paw that was at their height all the way up to the huge fangs that were dripping poison.

They had the same thought, and voiced it in unison. "Retreat!"

'An interesting choice for me. Do I pursue my original target, or the interloper? This will prove to be amusing.' Sesshomaru felt his muscles bunch as his prey bolted.

Mizuki whistled for Shou as the siblings ran in opposite directions. Sesshomaru had decided to target his somewhat treacherous daughter first, and was right on her heels. When the blue dragon appeared, he seemed somewhat reluctant to come down.

"Do not dare or I will never bring snacks again!" The naginata was put to good use in deflecting the sharp teeth aimed for her.

Shou shot down from the sky, slamming into Sesshomaru's side. The dog was thrown several lengths by the impact of the full sized dragon, buying Mizuki enough time to swing on. She snagged Katsuro by the collar and hauled him on as she whipped by.

"Now what, Ki-chan?" Katsuro hung on to his sister as they tried to get clear of an annoyed Sesshomaru.

"Why must I do all of the planning?" Mizuki's stomach flipped over as Shou dove hard to avoid a leap from Sesshomaru.

"Because you don't like my ideas." Swinging his leg over, Katsuro dropped from the dragon.

"Baka!" Shou echoed Mizuki's yell with a roar as Katsuro dropped towards the white dog with his sword still secured at his side. "You are going to get stuck again!"

When Katsuro hit the ground it was not on two feet, but four. The fur over his shoulders was up as he growled at his father. He was about half the size of his opponent and lacked the poison, but he held his ground. 'You better be ready to back me up, Ki-chan.'

Surprised by his offspring once again, Sesshomaru had to rethink his plan. He had already known that Katsuro could transform, but he had only seen it once. His son usually avoided it, because he would get very sick and sometimes he would get stuck in this form. The last time he had changed it had taken two days to get him back to his usual form, and after he changed back he had collapsed and slept for a full day and night. The question on how it was possible still bothered everyone. Some said it was because of his potent bloodlines, while others said it was because of the miko. The simple fact was that no one knew, and that Katsuro was unique in this respect.

The smaller, black dog charged, keeping one ear on Shou while keeping the rest of his attention on the massive taiyoukai in front of him. He dodged the sharp teeth that were trying to close around him, slamming his shoulder into his father's ribs. Behind him Mizuki was charging in, her naginata at the ready. She leaned over Shou's shoulder, hanging on with one hand while the other swung low to score a hit that ran from her father's cheek up to above his ear.

Snarling, Sesshomaru ignored Katsuro in favor of knocking Mizuki off of Shou and taking away her advantage. She landed in a tumble, rolling away from her attacker. A glancing blow from his claws left a cut across her arm and back. The black dog latched onto one of Sesshomaru's legs and shook hard, making the larger dog roar and try to bat him away.

Mizuki sat up and looked back over her shoulder, watching as Katsuro tangled up with Sesshomaru. She still had her naginata, but there was no time to reorganize with Shou. Tightening her grip, she felt her heart race with the unfamiliar surge of adrenaline. 'Well, he will certainly not see this coming.'

There was a loud yelp as Katsuro was bitten on the leg, forcing him to let go. He slashed out with his own claws to keep Sesshomaru away before he could lock on and really cause some damage. From behind Sesshomaru came that whistling sound again, and he turned to find his daughter standing alone and smiling at him. "Come and get me, father."

'Foolish.' Sesshomaru leapt for her, not even bothering to dodge the relatively tiny weapon. Mizuki stood her ground, waiting. At the last minute she dropped to the ground, letting him pass by without even attempting to fight. Keeping an eye on her brother, she leapt so that she could drive the naginata into Sesshomaru's hip. Katsuro landed on his father's shoulders, sinking his claws in and throwing him even further off balance, while Shou dove in to slam into the taiyoukai's side once again.

With a furious roar, Sesshomaru went down.

----

"What happened?" Kagome almost upset her table in her haste to get to her family. "Who attacked?"

"Technically, I think the first swing was from father." The famous smile was still in place, even as Katsuro was dragged into the room by his sister. "But I think Ki-chan might have been the reason it escalated."

The amber eyes glanced over at Katsuro. "And you are not to blame?"

"I did a lot of running away. I certainly didn't try to makes this into an all out dog fight."

Mizuki nearly dropped her brother for his comment. "You are at least half to blame, since it was originally supposed to be you and father."

"No one attacked? You guys did this to each other?" The miko had her mouth hanging open as she took in the group. Katsuro was very pale and being held up by his sister, who sported a long cut that crossed from her arm to her back. There was blood in Sesshomaru's beautiful hair from a cut that ran from his cheek past his hairline, and there was more blood on his kimono. All three looked quite content. "I can't leave the three of you alone for a minute!"

"It was just some sparring, Mama." Katsuro was lowered to sit on a cushion by his sister. "Ki-chan, could you get some of that really strong tea from the kitchens?"

'I hate those eyes.' Mizuki nodded sharply before leaving the room.

"Just some sparing? Looks more like all out war to me. You transformed again, didn't you Katsuro." Kagome tipped her son's chin up with her hand and looked at his bleached out complexion. "At least you were able to change back this time, and with your sister home she'll make sure you don't do anything else stupid for a couple of days."

"Hai, Mama."

"He is fine, Kagome." Sesshomaru examined his own bloodied clothing. "This one was from him, actually."

"Well, aren't you the proud Papa." The annoyed miko shoved his sleeve up, revealing a cut that was already half healed. "Nice work, Katsuro-kun. Where did the one on your face come from?"

"Mizuki's naginata."

"How did you ever get her to fight?"

"We figured it out last night, Mama. Two hanyou equals one taiyoukai. Toss in Shou and we stand a chance against anyone." Katsuro looked quite proud, even as his complexion shifted a shade of green. "I hope Ki-chan hurries, or I'm going to lose my lunch."

"I like that. Not the losing the lunch part, but the two hanyou part." Kagome smiled at her mate. Of course he looked the same as ever, but Kagome knew he was quite proud of his offspring. 'They must have put in a good showing.'

Mizuki came back in with a teapot and a cup. "It is still steeping, foolish one. You will need to wait. You were lucky that there was already water on for dinner."

"And how's your arm, Mizuki-chan?" The worried mother in Kagome tried to catch her daughter's sleeve, but she was too slow.

"It is fine, mother. I inherited father's poison, so it does not bother me. Katsuro, on the other hand. . . "

"You poisoned Katsuro?" Sesshomaru's mate was right in front of him in a heartbeat, her hands on her hips. "How many times do I have to tell the both of you to stop doing that?"

"It was a small injury." The youkai lord tipped his head to the side at his mate. "Considering that they were both attacking me, and with assistance, it was justifiable."

"Justifiable? Katsuro, where is this 'small injury'?"

"Mama . . ." The whine was ignored as Kagome looked her son over, finding a puncture in his leg that obviously came from one of Sesshomaru's fangs. "Its fine, Mama. I got away before he could get a real grip on me."

"No more sparing until I say so! That goes for all three of you! You know, most families would think it was very concerning when the father and children go out and make complete messes of each other."

The tirade only got Kagome a blank stare from everyone in the room.

"Fine! Keep on beating each other up! It's all fun and games until someone loses an arm!"

Sesshomaru crossed his two arms over his chest. "Not amusing, miko."

Choking on his scalding hot tea, Katsuro tried to keep his laughter back. "Nice one, Mama."

"Up, shetai. You need to return to your room." Mizuki pulled her brother to his feet.

"Easy, Ki-chan, or I'm going to end up with my lunch on the front of your kimono."

"There is no need to be so revolting."

The siblings moved slowly across the room and out the door. Their voices echoed back to their parents. "No, really, Ki-chan. I think I'm going to be sick. I don't know if it's the poison or the transforming, but things just aren't sitting well."

"If you do I will make sure that you remain in bed for several days."

"I'll try to hold it."

"Well?" Kagome looked back to her mate. "What happened? You're just as proud as you were when Katsuro and Mizuki had their first successfully hunt."

"They were able to get me down." Nodding his head towards the door, Sesshomaru invited Kagome to join him as he walked to their room. "They had a plan, and it worked."

"What kind of a plan?"

"Mizuki was Katsuro's 'secret weapon', and was quite effective. They make a formidable pair."

"So Mizuki jumped in and turned the tables. I kind of wish I had seen it." His mate slid the door to their room open, letting Sesshomaru go in ahead of her. "I probably would have stopped it, of course, but it would have been interesting to see them take you down."

"It was most interesting." The white silk was dropped to the ground as Sesshomaru pulled out new clothing.

"So, you think they can hold the lands after you step down?"

"Together, it would be very difficult for anyone to stop them."

"Not even you?"

"That would be an interesting challenge."

----

'I promised Mama to not kill unless it was completely necessary, and as annoying as he is I do not believe he qualifies. But it is a very close thing.'

"I don't care whose daughter you are, Commander. I'm still not going to give up the only member of my unit that has any potential." The older male crossed his arms and glared.

"It is not a request, it is an order. The Lady wants Juro, and she will have him." Mizuki did not even look up, but kept her eyes on her list.

"Sesshomaru-sama, I can't lose him. The rest are hopeless!"

'Two dogs squabbling over a bone.' The inu-youkai lord had been ignoring the fighting Commanders, but found his reading interrupted. "Who are you replacing Juro with?"

"I am letting the Commander take his pick from the reserve list for the Lady's Guard." The sapphire eyes lifted to the surprised expression on her fellow Commander's face. 'Oh yes, I have seen your unit. I pity you. After the last exercise where they charged the wrong way and into their allies, I would not leave you completely alone.'

"Why didn't you just say this before?"

"You did not ask."

"If that is all, Ken." Sesshomaru was already pulling out the latest list of issues for Mizuki to attend to.

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama. Commander." With a quick bow Ken left.

"They seem to be accepting your promotion."

"Hai. Killing that Captain in front of everyone probably helped." Mizuki took the offered list. "Mother is relieved I did not kill anyone on my last assignment."

"Hn."

"Mizuki-sama?"

'What fool would interrupt me while I am meeting with father?' Mizuki snapped her head around to tell the idiot off, but that is not what came out. Instead she held out her hand for the message bearing a familiar seal.

The servant had barely disappeared through the door before Mizuki had the note open and was scanning over it. Her father was watching her closely, well aware that her posture had changed.

"Well?"

Mizuki snapped her head up, suddenly realizing where she was. "It is Cho. I must leave. I can be back in two or three days."

'She said 'I', so it is not an attack. That female just lost her mate, so she may need to go for personal reasons. It is Mizuki, so I can assume it is critical if she must leave immediately.' Sesshomaru nodded, sending his daughter flying from the room.

Her first stop was her mother's study. "Cho needs me. I will be back in two or three days."

"Is it an attack?" Kagome started to stand up, but her daughter waved her back down.

"No, Mama. She just needs me."

"Okay, Mizuki-chan. Have fun." Without another thought Kagome returned to her argument with Kumo. "I will not go to court today, and you can't make me!"

Shaking her head, Mizuki continued through the palace. Normally she would watch her mother's assistant so effortlessly manipulate her lady, but not today. Instead she stopped by her room to pick up her naginata and her still packed bag before going outside and whistling for Shou. He was in a middle size, about as tall as she was when he landed and tried to pounce on her.

The mock attacks were fended off with some difficulty and a small amount of laughter. "Well, I hope you enjoyed your night off. Cho needs us."

Shou nodded and changed to his full size so that he could carry Mizuki easily.

"Ki-chan, where are you going now? You just got back three days ago!" Katsuro jogged over to the dragon.

"I need to go to the Northern Court and pick up Cho. I will be back in a couple of days."

"With Cho?"

"Hai."

"Do you have to?"

"Hai. Can you tend to the new recruits?"

"Feh. Fine, and just go right ahead and bring your annoying friend. I'll just avoid both of you."

"You have not seen her in over a century. Maybe you will get along now that she is an adult and you look like one."

The creative insults that Katsuro hurled at them faded as Shou took to the air, aiming for the mountains to the north where Hideaki's fortress stood.

Mizuki pulled the note from her sleeve and reread it as Shou soared through the clear sky.

_Mizuki,_

_I have returned to my home, and it is a relief. I was only with that bastard for thirty years, but it felt like an eternity. Father does not seem to be interested in much of a mourning period. I can already see him looking for a new match, and I am rather worried. After the last one I have no interest in a new mate. Please, Mizuki, I need your help. I could use some support when I ask Father to give me some time before sending me away again. I need to do this before he finds someone new for me, and I can't deal with that right now. Can you help me? Arigato._

_Cho_

'Damn it, Hideaki! She is your daughter.' Mizuki tucked the note back into her sleeve. 'It was bad enough that he was so much older, or that he hated me so much that we could not send messages except through Mayu. But Mayu told me about the injury that she tried to keep hidden. I will take her back to my home until she is ready to deal with whatever alliance she is needed for.'

----

"Where did Mizuki go?" Shippou tried to sneak in a hit, but Katsuro was paying too much attention for that sort of thing. All the kitsune got for his trouble was a rap on the head. He was still shorter then Katsuro, and just about every other youkai he knew, and it put him at a bit of a disadvantage.

"She went to pick up a friend. Have you met Hideaki-sama's daughter Cho?"

"Nope. That's the one that Mizuki's friends with, right?"

"Hai." Katsuro ducked away as Shippou tried to close the distance between them. "And the most annoying hime in all of Japan. Always whining about something not being right."

"How can Mizuki stand her?"

There was a ring of steel as Katsuro exchanged some blows with his friend before whirling away again. "I have no idea. Most people that annoying would get an up close view of Ki-chan's claws, but not Cho. Together they are nothing but trouble."

With a puff of smoke Shippou transformed into a perfect Sesshomaru, making Katsuro yelp and fall back. He even had the voice. "Die."

"Stop that! It creeps me out every single time!"

The fake Sesshomaru giggled in Shippou's voice. "Is that any way to talk to the great and mighty Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Hello, father." Katsuro eyes were focused behind Shippou while he wore a smug grin.

"Eep!" With a pop Shippou returned to his usual self and was promptly flattened by Katsuro.

"I can't believe you fell for that! You know I wouldn't even have a chance to say hello before he knocked you across the gardens."

"Ow." The protest was muffled by the ground, since his best friend was pressing him face first into the dirt.

"What did you expect? It was a dirty trick, and I responded in kind. Now say it."

"And what if I don't?" Shippou groaned a bit as Katsuro pushed his face into the dirt again. "Fine, fine, I give."

"I don't know what Ki-chan's talking about. You're lots of fun." Katsuro helped Shippou to his feet, laughing as the kitsune spit out dirt and grass. The red hair that usually just looked unruly was now a disaster, escaping from the tie that kept it out of Shippou's face.

"Well, you already said she has lousy taste in friends."

"Oh, yes. Cho." The blade was slammed into its sheath as Katsuro tucked his hands into his sleeves. He raised his voice to a high, grating pitch. "Oh, Katsuro-san, stop that. Everyone will see you, and they already have a hard time thinking of a hanyou as the heir. Can you not behave yourself?"

The kitsune's clapped his hands over his ears. "Ugh. So you take the most annoying hime in Japan and combine her with the most ruthless and they create trouble? I would think that they'd ignore each other. Or kill each other, depending on their moods."

"Ki-chan is not the most ruthless hime in Japan." Katsuro gave Shippou a sharp glare. "I told you to quit saying things like that."

"She may be your sister, but she is every bit as much of a cold, ruthless killer as your father."

The inu-hanyou stared off into the distance. "You don't understand either of them."

"What's to understand? You've never been on the receiving end of Sesshomaru's attacks, but I have. They get what they want, and anyone in the way is removed."

"Is that truly how everyone sees her?"

"Um, Katsuro? She killed a general within a candle mark of her promotion. Then there was that Captain she spent most of a morning killing with all of Kagome-chan's guard watching. What do you think people will say?"

_They are afraid because I made that choice._

_I will stand with you, little brother. No one will be able to bring you down with me behind you._

'She wants them to see her that way. I know she's not ruthless, but I guess I'm the only one who is supposed to know.' A change of topic seemed to be in order. "After Cho gets here you can decide if Ki-chan's ruthless. But we can bet on Cho being annoying."

"She's a snow leopard, right?"

"Hai, with that weird spotted hair and pale eyes. She's littler then Ki-chan. She always wears the fanciest kimonos and thinks she's very proper. Unless, of course, she's dropping mud bombs on me from Shou."

"Well, maybe I will like her after all."

----


	68. Attraction

A/N: Between the bat, the sword, the chanting, and all of the yelling, I think it is in my best interest to continue with the story. Siliandro, I think I will be rewriting the end of Matchmaker, but I doubt I'll take the bit about Rin out. I really think it needs to be where it is, but I really appreciate the honest comments. I'm going to try and get the emotions back into play as we go, but I'm still trying to get all of the critters where they belong. And for those of you that want to see, the ages are going on the bottom of this. Kags and Sesshy jump in next chapter. I had to get the kids settled first. You will read about Rin later. She is not a major player. Sorry, I really am. I miss her dearly. Own zippidy doo dah.

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When Shou settled to the ground at the entrance of Hideaki's fortress all of the guards snapped to attention. Mizuki had visited often enough that most of them recognized her and her mount immediately. She had not come to visit since Cho had left, but they were not surprised to see her now that the lady had returned.

A very tired Shou dropped across Mizuki's shoulders and burrowed under her hair. They had pushed hard to make it in a day, and he was exhausted. He was not looking forward to the return trip. A gentle finger rubbed him under his chin, and he rumbled with pleasure. At least he would be treated like visiting royalty that night. The cooks knew him well.

A servant was already running to let the family know about the visitor, even as the gates were being closed behind the silent female. She knew the way to the front hall, and made her way there with scarcely a nod to anyone.

Hideaki was waiting for her, standing in the huge, empty room. Mizuki bowed deeply, a genuine show of respect for the tactical genius that had found time to tutor her on several of her visits.

"Mizuki-san, a pleasure to see you. I saw that my daughter had sent a message, but what could she have written to bring you to my door so quickly?" Hideaki had a small, almost fatherly smile.

"I have not seen her in quite some time, my lord."

The leopard stared at her, smelling a half truth. "Very well. Perhaps you would like to surprise her. I believe she is in her rooms."

"As it pleases you, my lord." With another deep bow, Mizuki backed up before turning to leave. 'If her father wishes for me to surprise her, who am I to deny him?'

Slipping outside, Mizuki moved around the building until she was outside of Cho's window. Inside she could hear the melody that Cho was creating with her beloved instrument. Even Mizuki had to admit that it was a joy to listen to her. The screen was open, allowing her to see inside. Cho was kneeling on the floor, wrapped up in the song.

The faint sound of silk made Cho turn her head, looking for the source. She saw no one, and returned her concentration to her music. She had missed a note while distracted, and it had jarred her sensitive ears.

"It is a good thing that I am not a threat."

"Ah!" Cho jumped, causing a horrible jangle of notes to come from her koto. Shou hissed at the sound and Mizuki flattened her ears. "Mizuki! What do you think you're doing? If she is damaged you will be paying for it!"

Mizuki arched an eyebrow as her friend examined her instrument. "She?"

"Leave it, Mizuki."

"I am merely suggesting that your koto is not alive."

"Hush. You'll make her mad." Cho gave a wicked smile as she finally focused on the inu-hanyou. "You made good time."

"It did seem rather urgent. Does your father seem to have anyone picked out?"

"Hai." Cho put her instrument away, ducking her face behind her hair. "Another influential lord who would be honored to have one of Hideaki's daughters as a mate."

"And how much older is this one?"

"About four hundred years. He lost his first mate while she was giving birth, and father is thinking of offering me. Mother said so."

Mizuki knelt on a cushion. "Is there anything official yet?"

"No. It would be unseemly, since that bastard has only been dead for a few months."

There was a low growl when Mizuki thought of Cho's now deceased mate.

"Easy, Mizuki. He's gone now."

"And I am getting you out of here so that your well intentioned father will not get you into another mess before you can deal with it."

"Really? You think you can? I had only hoped for some support when I talked to him, but this would be even better. If he does not see me every day then he will not think about it as much. I just need some time, Mizuki."

"And you will get it. Hideaki-sama owes me a favor, and I believe this is an excellent opportunity to use it."

"Is your family all right with this?"

"Mother is delighted. Katsuro will survive."

"I forgot about him. He can't still have a grudge. The last time I saw him he was an annoying adolescent."

Mizuki chuckled. "He does carry a grudge still, but he will behave himself. Mother will make sure of that."

"Please tell me he grew up."

"Hai. He is now an annoying adult."

"Well, it has been awhile, but I still know how to make a nice mudbomb."

"I have missed you."

----

Mizuki was not at all surprised that Mayu had the same opinion of Hideaki's next choice that she did. The Lady enlisted her to help convince the Northern Lord to let Cho have a little vacation before allying her to a new family. Their target was outside, discussing some work on the walls around his home. When he saw Mizuki and Mayu he broke away to greet them. "Ladies, what brings you out here?"

"Mizuki-san is worried about Cho."

Centuries of practice kept Mizuki's reactions hidden, but she wanted to gape at Mayu and maybe smack her on the back of the head. 'What kind of a plan is that?'

"Really? Why?" Hideaki watched Mizuki closely, looking for small hints.

"She thinks Cho looks depressed, and needs a change of scenery."

"Interesting. And where does Mizuki-san want to take Cho?"

"Back to her home. You cannot get much more different then Sesshomaru's court."

'And what do you mean by that?' Mizuki forced her body to relax again.

"I am not sure about this. Cho does not need the added stress of hectic surroundings. Is Mizuki-san sure that this is in my daughter's best interest?"

Mayu crossed her arms. "Don't be an old goat. Mizuki-san always has Cho-chan's best interests in mind. Besides, you owe her a favor for helping you with that little rebellion. Let her spend some time with her friend."

"In that case, I do not see any harm in Cho visiting with Sesshomaru-sama's family, especially if it will alleviate Mizuki-san's concerns." Hideaki tried not to smile at the silent female. 'That should get her.'

'Am I not standing here? There seems to be a lot that I am saying, and yet I do not remember saying anything. Mizuki-san's concerns. That jerk.' One ear twitched, but the rest of Mizuki did not move. 'Damn ears.'

"Well then, I will go and tell Cho that she needs to pack for a trip. Arigato, Hideaki." Mayu smiled before walking away.

Mizuki bowed, ignoring Hideaki's smirk. 'Feh.'

"And how concerned are you, Mizuki-san?"

She knew he was teasing her, but she felt as though she had to say something. "Now that she is away from Hachi-san my concerns are considerably lessened."

Hideaki frowned. "I did not know, Mizuki-san. You must know that I would not have let her stay there if I had been told."

"I understand, my lord. And an excellent leader always learns from his mistakes."

"And what are you suggesting, pup?"

Mizuki ground her teeth a bit at the reminder of her relative youth. "I am suggesting nothing."

"You are suggesting that I be more careful with my daughter this time. She will make a powerful alliance for me. I do not share your mother's obsession for romance."

"And neither do I, my lord. I agree that you should match her for the most advantageous position possible."

"Finish your thought, pup."

"He should not have hurt her. She is not a fighter."

"Walk with me." Hideaki set out across the grounds. "Cho decided to hide that incident from everyone. She even swore her mother to secrecy when she found out. I knew that they did not get along well, but I had no reason to suspect that things had gone that far."

"But why would she hide this?"

"She considered it her duty to make the alliance work. It is for the best he died, for if I had found out and killed him, her work would have been wasted."

"Perhaps."

"I know that Cho is furious with me right now. A visit to your home will give her a chance to settle again. I know she has missed you."

"I will do what I can for your daughter."

They stopped before the entrance. Hideaki relaxed again, now that the unpleasant topic had been dealt with. "We both have the same goal in this matter."

"Hai, my lord." Mizuki bowed again. "I must return to Cho-san now."

Hideaki stayed outside while Mizuki tracked Cho down. She found her friend in her room, pulling out kimonos. "Do not tell me that you intend to pack all of those."

"What are you talking about, Mizuki? This is only three outfits." Cho carefully spread out the colorful silk. "It is now getting warm enough to enjoy my spring colors."

"We leave the day after tomorrow, with only what Shou can carry. The rest can be sent after us."

"Nani? Do not be silly. I will not show up at your home with one rumpled kimono shoved into a bag and a second that reeks of dragon."

"You can borrow some of mine."

"Do you have anything with some color to it?" Cho looked Mizuki up and down. "Honestly, it does nothing for you."

"Would you like to be pushed off of Shou?"

"Not really."

"Then stop. My clothing is practical."

"Practical. Boring, I say. Be practical in a color that is at least more flattering! Besides, we are only arguing over three outfits. It's not that much."

Mizuki rolled her eyes. "Fine, since that is the only way I will be able to get you out of here without a major battle."

"Why Mizuki, I think you're getting soft!"

----

'It is always so quiet here.' Mizuki listened to the wind in the leaves above her. 'How dull.'

She could see Cho walking across the grounds. 'Probably coming to bring me to dinner. She must be done packing. You would think she is going away and will never return with the way she packs. Mama never holds parties if she can avoid it, so I do not know why she insists on packing such nonsense.'

The leaves rustled again, but Mizuki's ears swiveled. That did not sound like the wind. Her hand slid to the throwing dagger that was always hidden at her waist. Someone was watching her. Cho was only one hundred yards away, and walking rapidly.

The source of sound was moving, coming lower in the tree. The dagger was out of its sheath, ready to attack. When Cho screamed Mizuki was ready.

"Look out!"

A figure dropped out of the tree, aiming to land on the inu-hanyou. Mizuki slammed her fist into his side, knocking him away. Before he could recover she had him off of the ground by his throat, her dagger in her other hand.

"Goro! Baka! What do you think you're doing?" Cho marched over to glare at her now grown cousin.

"Put me down, half-breed," Goro gurgled as he struggled.

"Well, Cho?" Mizuki tightened her grip, letting blood run down her arm.

"Actually, you better put him down." Cho sighed even as she said this.

"And why would I do that?"

"My father is the next Lord of the North, wench." Goro continued to pull at the hand holding him.

"Cho, explain."

"When Isamu-kun left, father named my oldest sister's mate as the next heir. That's Goro's father."

Mizuki looked less then impressed. "I am certain that he has siblings that could replace him."

"Bitch. You wouldn't dare. My father. . . "

"I do not care who your father is." Dark blue eyes seemed to fill Goro's vision as he was pulled in close. "Unlike you, I do not hide behind my father. I am not the half grown female you attempted to bully all those years ago. I am your superior, you worthless bastard."

"Mizuki, we are going to get in trouble if you kill him." Tapping her toe, Cho gave her friend a reproving look.

"I do not care."

Goro's protests had been crushed down to whistling sounds.

"We are already late for dinner. Just drop him."

"No."

"Drop him or I'm going to tell Katsuro about that emissary that you met here the last time you were out."

There was a loud thud as Goro hit the ground. He lay in a heap, gasping for air and holding his throat as blood ran over his hand.

"That is dirty, Cho." Mizuki calmly examined her claws and clothing.

"And it is usually considered rude to show up for a meal with a family member's blood all over your clothes." Cho gave Goro a last glare. "I don't think I even need to tell you to stay away from Mizuki."

"My father will kill her for this." The threat was little more then a rattling whisper.

Mizuki gazed down at him with a look that had been chipped from ice. "He can try."

"Dinner, Mizuki." Cho marched off, leaving her friend to follow. "I'm sure you do not like smelling of his blood."

"True." Mizuki followed after her friend. "I do not think he learned anything from this."

"Probably not. Were you really going to kill him?"

"He attacked me."

"A prank. He was not going to hurt you for real, probably just a fright."

"It was still an attack. He is lucky I recognized his scent, or he would have been dead before you could have protested. Only a fool attacks a soldier like that."

"Messing with you is like playing with a powder keg."

"Hai."

"Still, it's a good thing you did not kill him over a silly prank. Is it possible you overreacted?"

"If a fool picks up a weapon they cannot handle, it is not the fault of the weapon when they are injured."

Silently counting to ten, Cho tried again. "I am just suggesting that you might want to consider other responses. Not every creature that bothers or displeases you deserves to die. For example, should I accidentally break something of yours . . . "

"I would only maim you for such an act, not kill."

"Oh, so you don't overreact. What a relief." Mumbling to herself, Cho slid open the door to her room. "Get in here and change before someone sees you. I do not want any of the family changing their mind on my trip because my dear friend is trying to kill family members again."

"They would not be able to stop us."

"It may be perfectly normal for your family to decide things by who can swing the heaviest object, but I prefer to just come to an agreement. You should try it sometime, it's rather relaxing."

"Hn."

"You know, your reputation is set. You do not have to go around destroying and killing just to make sure."

The hanyou froze, facing away from Cho. "What are you saying, Cho?"

"I'm saying that you do not have to make a point of killing everyone that crosses you now. Everyone gets it."

Mizuki swallowed hard and relaxed before she put her claws through the silk in her hands. "And you believe that my behavior this afternoon was an act."

"I know it was. I have known you longer then just about anyone, except your family. I know you're pretty ruthless, but I also know that you're going right over the top. Killing Goro? Come on. Its gotten worse while I've been away and you really do not need it. Everyone believes you, except for me of course, so just tone it down a bit."

"I will consider this."

"That's all I wanted. And put this on, I would love to see you in some color."

The kimono might as well have been a huge, venomous spider for the way Mizuki recoiled. "It is pink."

"You could use some color."

"If this is some sort of a test to see if I will not kill you, it is not going well."

----

"You pack of worthless idiots! What part of left was too much for your tiny minds to comprehend? Do I need to chop off your left arms so you can tell the difference?" Trying to keep up his glare through his amusement, Katsuro waited as the new recruits lined up again, this time all facing the correct way. 'I'm going to get you for this, Ki-chan.'

One of the future soldiers whispered to the youkai next to him. Throwing up his hands in frustration, Katsuro marched over. "Well? Do you have something to say?"

"No, Katsuro-sama."

"Are you sure?"

"Hai, Katsuro-sama."

Grabbing the youkai by a pointed ear, the inu-hanyou marched him out of line. "Come right out here. You may think that you are safe because I'm a hanyou, but even a ningen could hear that racket." Katsuro twisted his wrist, sending the unfortunate example to his knees. "Now say you're sorry for insulting my mother."

"Ow ow ow ow."

"Not quite what I'm looking for. Try again." The ear was given another twist.

"Gomen nasai, Katsuro-sama."

"And promise you'll never do it again."

Quiet snickers escaped through the recruits as their comrade knelt in the dirt while being held in a grip that any mother would have envied.

"I promise, my lord."

"Good boy." Katsuro released, letting the youkai stumble away. "Oh, before I forget . . . "

The recruit yelped as a dagger buried itself in his shoulder.

The low growl and heat in Katsuro's eyes made all of the recruits draw back. "Do not ever talk about my mother."

A familiar shape was soaring across the sky, making Katsuro sigh with relief and release his victim. "Well, your Commander is back, so you can deal with her."

The recruits stiffened as the blue dragon dropped lower. Shippou strolled over from his hiding place in the shade, his eyes on the three figures in the sky. Before the dragon had even touched the ground Mizuki was off, walking to her brother with a sharp nod to the kitsune. "Well?"

"Not bad, actually. Except for the one that's bleeding. He needs lots of close, personal attention."

Mizuki gave a sharp nod. "Captain, take over. I want them back here and in a proper formation before the sun touches those trees."

"Hai, Commander."

"How was your trip, Ki-chan?" There was a bright smile for the newly returned sister. "You probably had more fun then me. You owe me big for sticking me with that lot."

"I will make it up to you. Come and greet Cho."

"Do I have to?" Katsuro grabbed Shippou's arm and hissed at him. "You're coming with me."

"How come?" Shippou wiggled a bit before giving in to the larger male.

"If I have to deal with her, so do you."

By the time Katsuro and Shippou sulked over Mizuki was back by Shou. Cho was sitting sideways on the dragon, dressed as elegantly as any courtier. She looked over to the two males with eyes that were darker then either of her parents, more topaz blue then ice.

Katsuro and Shippou stopped dead.

"That's Cho?" Shippou hissed.

"I think so. She sure didn't look like that the last time I saw her." Katsuro was having a hard time putting the name of his childhood nemesis on the vision in front of him.

"Holy Kami."

"Katsuro. Shippou. Do not be rude." Mizuki glared at the two thunderstruck males. They were showing no signs of reanimating. "_Move it_."

The barked order reengaged their brains, sending them both forward again.

Sigh. "Cho-san, you remember Katsuro-san. And this is his companion, Shippou-san."

Both of the males had the sense to bow as Cho slid off of Shou and bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, Shippou-san. And Katsuro-san, I hardly recognized you."

'Say something clever, say something clever.' "Yeah." Katsuro blinked twice. 'Baka!'

"Cho, I will show you to your room. I am certain you would like to rest." Mizuki shouldered Cho's pack while letting Shou wrap around her other arm.

"Arigato, Mizuki. I look forward to seeing you again, my lords." Her long hair floating well past her hips, Cho followed her friend up to the palace.

"You never told me that the most annoying hime in Japan looked like that!" The kitsune stared after the elegant female, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"She didn't! I mean, she doesn't! That's just Cho, Mizuki's really annoying friend." Katsuro crossed his arms. "And close your mouth before something decides to build a nest in there."

"Like you're one to say anything, you could barely talk when you saw her."

"No! I just didn't want to talk to her. What about you? You didn't say anything."

"You said she was annoying. I didn't want to start a fight."

"Sure, Shippou."

"What do you care, if she's just Mizuki's annoying friend? You sound jealous that I might have been looking at her."

"Don't be stupid. I don't care if you look at her. I think you care that I might care. I think you're the jealous one."

"No way! She's got that weird spotted hair, and those light eyes, and the way she moves . . ."

Katsuro looked his friend up and down. "Wow, she just got here and you're already a babbling idiot. Usually you're just an idiot, but this is special."

"And you keep looking back to watch her walk up to the palace. I don't want her, you do!"

"I do not!"

"Fine, then. It's settled. Neither of us wants Mizuki's annoying friend Cho." Shippou gave a sharp nod. "As long as everyone knows that nothing is going on."

"Of course. Who would want someone like her, anyways?"

----

A/N: Ages

Mizuki: 207 Katsuro: 199 Cho: 247 Shippou: 216 Hideaki: approx 900 Akira: approx 500 Kagome: 227 Sesshy: approx 500 Merkamou: approx 550 Isamu: 299 Mayu: approx 800 Yuriko: 194


	69. Be Careful What You Wish For

A/N: Okay, this is a big fat plot bunny, but sometimes you just can't resist. I hate being predictable, but sometimes it just can't be avoided. And her character was just screaming for this. Don't worry, I'll veer off and wander around like usual, but right now I just had to. Blackxheart, I thought you would like her. She's going to be neat, I think, and very different from my other female characters. The problem with writing a popular character like Rin is that everyone wants more, even when its just not part of the story. And believe me, I miss her too. And the usual hugs and snuggles for all of my reviewers, I love the big warm fuzzies. Still own nada.

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A figure went flying through the air, taking out the three soldiers behind him.

"I am still looking for a real challenge!" Glaring about him, the male watched as his opponents tried to regroup and charge while shaking with fear. "Come at me!"

With a feeling of futility the group mobbed forward again, trying to overwhelm the taiyoukai. He disappeared under the assault, seemingly outnumbered, before the soldiers were sent flying through the air again, leaving the male alone in the square. "You are all pathetic."

"Seiji-sama."

Glaring, the male walked over to the shaking servant. "Hai?"

"Your mother has requested your presence, my lord."

'I was becoming bored with this anyways.' "Hai." The servant was left wavering in the square as Seiji marched off to find the lady that had summoned him.

"You wanted to see me, mother."

The Lady of the East looked up to find her oldest son standing in the doorway. "Hai, Seiji. Please, sit and talk with me."

"And what do you want from me?"

The dragon raised an eyebrow at her son. He was her pride and joy, but that had not led to a warm and loving relationship. Of all of her offspring with Isamu, this one resembled her the most. While the rest took after their snow leopard father, this one was all dragon.

"I wish to discuss a potential mate with you."

"Why the rush? I have not yet reached two hundred years. Are you so eager to be called grandmother?" Seiji dropped onto a cushion, pushing his blue-black hair behind his shoulders.

"For political reasons, my son. The treaty with the West is ending."

"And? The only time the West has ever attacked the East was when your former mate decided to start a war. Let the treaty lapse. We are not so weak that we need that protection."

"You are being blind. We have strife from inside, and the ningens are becoming quite troublesome. I do not have the energy or resources to watch our borders and deal with the internal threats. If you think Sesshomaru would just ignore an opportunity to destroy us if it was convenient, you have obviously not met him."

Seiji shrugged. "You have your reasons. And which female have you picked out for your loving son?"

"Sesshomaru's eldest, Mizuki."

"The hanyou?"

Akira started to tap her fan on her desk. "Hai."

"Absolutely not." Seiji was on his feet, pacing. "There is no way I would take the result of Sesshomaru's folly as a mate."

"If your father commands you . . . "

Seiji burst out laughing. "Father? There is no need to pretend with me, mother. I know who rules the East."

"Very well." Akira was suddenly standing directly in front of her son, her fan held tightly. "Then you will obey me, Seiji. Many say that you are the most powerful taiyoukai of your generation, that you are second only to Sesshomaru, but I can still bring you down."

"No need for threats, mother. I have always been an obedient son."

"As long as it is more convenient, you mean."

"And you always manage to make it more convenient to obey you."

Akira returned to her seat. "I will send a message inquiring after Mizuki. I doubt that they would refuse to consider your offer, but if I know Kagome she will not be pleased."

"And why not?" Seiji had resumed his pacing, keeping his ice blue eyes glued to Akira. "Their daughter is a hanyou, how could they find me unacceptable?"

A soft smile drifted across Akira's features. "Because Kagome believes in love."

"Then Sesshomaru not only took a ningen, he took an idiot."

There was a soft hiss. Seiji was rather surprised to see his mother's eyes darkening, and the hiss was coming from her. "Peace, mother. My comment was inappropriate and I apologize." 'I had forgotten how touchy she is about Sesshomaru's bitch.'

"Out. I will let you know when I have received a response."

Seiji bowed himself out, his fingers itching to destroy something. Anything. 'A hanyou. She would saddle me with Sesshomaru's half breed daughter. Disgusting thought, and what kind of offspring would I have? How could any with the taint of ningen blood hope to hold these lands? Mother can scarcely do it, and she has some of the most powerful taiyoukai ever known as her ancestors.'

"Seiji, come and give me a real opponent."

Isamu was standing over one of the fallen soldiers from Seiji's previous workout.

'Perfect.' Seiji immediately changed directions to join his father.

"By the expression on your face I would guess that you have talked to your mother."

"Hai." Seiji pulled his sword and brought it down in a tight arc, aiming for his father's head.

"I told her you would react this way." Isamu blocked and dropped back. "I sure as hell would have."

"Can you talk some sense into her?"

"You think I didn't try?" The leopard ducked away from his frustrated son. Hopefully Seiji would not land him with the healer again. "Your mother is completely set on the idea of forming an alliance with the West. Ryuutaisho's brother is nibbling at us from the inside, and the ningens are getting much too efficient with those muskets for my liking. We very well may need Sesshomaru's support, rather then watching him from over the border."

"Then marry off one of my sisters. The hanyou son should be honored to have one of them." Seiji sent his father sliding across the ground. "Why taint my heirs with those bloodlines?"

"Because Sesshomaru is more likely to come to our assistance if his daughter is in danger." Carefully picking himself up, Isamu grimaced at the blood on his arm. "Would you mind not cutting me to ribbons, son?"

"Well, I cannot do this to mother . . . "

"Fine, but be a good son and drop your old man off at the healers afterwards."

"You have met this Mizuki, correct?"

"Hai, many years ago when she was just a pup. She actually came with her family to see you when you were born."

"So she is older then me." Seiji set the tip of his sword on the ground and rested his arm on it. "Am I being punished?"

"No more so then any other son that is stuck with an unappealing mate."

"Unappealing? She is ugly, too? Kami save me."

"No, I don't think she's ugly. She was rather pretty as a pup. I remember that she favored her father, but had blue eyes. My sister Cho believes that she has grown to be rather lovely."

"Aunt Cho?"

"Hai. She is close friends with Mizuki, and has kept me up to date on the goings on at Sesshomaru's home. For example, Mizuki was just made a Commander. I will warn you, the entire family is insane and rather violent. Do not underestimate her because she is a hanyou, and for pity's sake don't try to predict her."

"Well, at least that is something. I would rather not have a repulsive or boring female. This one may be enjoyable to sire some offspring on."

Isamu made a face at his son's obvious comment. "Sure, if you like them cold and deadly. I personally would have no interest in bedding an icicle."

"But I like them cold and deadly." There was a hint of fang in Seiji's smile. "If I can learn to ignore the hanyou stench I may actually enjoy this."

"Until she gets mad at you and sticks a knife between your ribs right in the middle of trying to produce those heirs. She would do it with a smile on her face, and you would be left hanging for all of eternity."

"Now I do want to meet her. If she is half as interesting as you are making her out to be it would be a short but interesting relationship. None would blame me for killing a female who tried such a thing, not even her father."

There was an appraising look to Isamu's eyes. "I have never thought that this was a good idea. Some elements just do not belong together, and this combination has the potential to be a powder keg with a very short fuse."

"Then perhaps you should talk to mother." Seiji slipped his blade into his sheath. "It will be a short alliance if I kill the half-bitch in bed."

Isamu watched his son stalk off. 'Akira, my love, you may not have calculated this one all the way to the end. He will kill her, or she will kill him. Either way, you will lose your precious alliance.' He set off in the opposite direction, heading to Akira's study.

"I just saw Seiji." Slipping into the room, Isamu offered a small smile to his mate.

"I can tell." Akira's eyes trailed over the blood on his arm. "He will do as he is told."

"Of course, and then kill her in the night."

"He would not dare."

"Oh, yes he would. Do you remember Mizuki at all?"

"She was very quiet and polite." Akira was already refocusing on her work. "You are being swayed by your son."

"If he gets her mad she will try to kill him, and he will return the favor. Do you think Sesshomaru made her a Commander just because she needed something to do?"

"They will be fine. They both know their duty." Akira made a show of pulling out a pen and ink.

"I am only looking out for your best interests."

"I realize that. Is there anything else?"

'One day she will take me seriously.' Biting down on his frustration, Isamu moved back to the door. "No. I will see you later, Akira."

"Hai."

'Now it is my turn to feel like destroying something. At least I have that in common with my son. Akira has the same effect on both of us.' Isamu tried to keep from stomping down the hall. He had improved his control over his temper, but sometimes it would still get away from him. 'The Captain would have my hide for that kind of behavior.'

Thinking of his old instructor brought Isamu's mind to a point of hope. 'I can think of only one creature that can stop this. Kagome. As soon as she hears 'arranged mating' she will dig in her heels and refuse, no matter who the offer comes from. She will insist on a courtship, and when they try to kill each other she will call the whole thing off.'

"Papa? Do you have time to play with us now?" Matching voices called to him from a room. Inside were two little girls, absolutely identical.

"Of course, ladies. My time is yours." Isamu followed his two youngest to a table where they were using mahjongg tiles to build a house.

"See? We're learning to play mahjongg!"

"I see." Isamu began to build an addition. 'Let Akira and Seiji play their games. At least I can understand the girls and my other son.' "Perhaps later I can show you another way to play mahjongg."

"Okay, Papa." "Arigato, Papa."

----

"Ki-chan! Mama's looking for you!"

'I must remember to kill my little brother.' Mizuki gave the Captains she had been meeting with a glare before leaving.

"Shetai, learn some restraint." Mizuki fell into step with him as they walked through the palace.

"Nah, you have enough for the both of us."

"What does Mama need?"

"No idea. She got a message and trapped father in his study. Now they want you."

"Hn."

Mizuki found the door open, so she slipped in with a bow. "Father, mother."

"Sit down, Mizuki-chan." Kagome patted the cushion next to her. "Scram, Katsuro-kun. I'll let you know later."

"Aw, come on, Mama. She'll just tell me as soon as I ask."

"Out." Kagome ignored the whining as she waved her son out.

Sesshomaru had a message in front of him, and he was already watching Mizuki.

"Hey Sesshomaru, did Katsuro actually leave?"

The youkai lord shook his head.

"Hn." Kagome tip toed over to the wall and set her hand on it.

"Ow!" Katsuro's yell could be clearly heard in the study.

"Then quit eaves dropping, pup!"

"Okay, Mama."

"Did he really leave this time?"

Unsuccessful in hiding his smirk, Sesshomaru nodded.

"One day he'll grow out of that." Kagome returned to her seat.

"Wishful thinking, miko."

Kagome made a face before turning to her daughter. "I got a message about you today."

Mizuki had a sudden flashback to facing her parents over a note from Mayu. 'Have I done anything that I need to worry about? Who would send a message? Am I in trouble? Is this about Goro?'

"Akira's eldest has made an offer for you."

The relief almost made Mizuki not pay attention to what was said. 'Wait a minute, offer?'

"The last time you saw Seiji he was just a couple of weeks old."

"Seiji? Isamu's son?"

"She reacted better than I predicted." Sesshomaru looked rather amused at his daughter's reaction.

Looking over to her father, Mizuki dropped into her usual means of communication with Sesshomaru. "A good match."

"He is likely not willing."

"And?"

"True."

"But Isamu's son."

"He may take after the dragon."

"True."

"Stop that!" Kagome looked back and forth between her mate and daughter. "You two know that drives me nuts!"

"Gomen, Mama. It is quite an offer. Lady of the East." Mizuki's mind was spinning. 'Lady in my own right, but who will help Katsuro?'

"This is not a job offer, you're looking at a mate! You know, that Seiji guy that you don't seem too interested in?" Kagome glared at the two inu.

"I know that, Mama, but you have to think of this from every angle."

"I'm not thinking about this from any angle until I meet him." Pure defiance radiated off of the miko.

"You will meet him during negotiations." Sesshomaru knew what kind of a battle he was starting, but he moved on bravely.

"No! We will meet him and inspect him before there is any of that!"

"Isamu may not agree to that."

"But Akira will." Kagome broke into a smile. "If nothing else, she still owes me for that whole war thing."

"So you want Isamu's heir to come here for inspection before you will consider his offer?" Mizuki looked aghast. "That is insulting to that family."

"And a courtship."

"Courtship? I may be half ningen, but I am not looking to get married. This seems like a waste of time."

"That's my final offer, or I won't listen to anything else about it."

"You do realize that Mizuki and I could go ahead without you." Sesshomaru tried not to smile as his mate sputtered.

"You wouldn't! I know where you sleep, youkai, and I can do a lot to you without killing you!" Kagome's aura snapped, making Mizuki shift away. "Oops. Gomen, Mizuki-chan."

"I do not require sleep, miko."

"You will eventually, and this Kagome is very patient. I can find ways to wear you out . . . "

"Mama, onegai." The fluffy white ears were already flat against Mizuki's head.

"I do wish to sleep tonight. Ask Akira to send Seiji." Sesshomaru shared a brief, exasperated glance with his daughter while Kagome clapped.

"He's probably very handsome, and Isamu could be quite the charmer when he wanted to be."

"When he was not calling me disgusting because of my parents, you mean."

"Well, Seiji may not be like that. He did offer for you."

"No, Akira offered for me." Mizuki rose and bowed. "I must return to my duties."

Sesshomaru gave his daughter a look, and she knew that he wanted to talk to her later.

"But, but Mizuki-chan . . . " Kagome sighed when her daughter left. "It could work out. If Seiji really didn't want her he could have refused."

"Possibly."

"You're not helping. You know I don't like this kind of thing."

"A remnant of your time in the future. It is the way that these things are normally done."

"But that does not mean that I have to like it. And I won't have Mizuki stuck with someone she hates for the rest of her life." Kagome rifled through Sesshomaru's papers, making him frown and move them away before she could rearrange them.

"If she is willing you should not stop her."

"She doesn't know any better! I can and will stop her."

"Actually, you cannot."

Kagome snapped her eyes up to Sesshomaru's. "I thought you were joking."

"Neither of us could stop her if she was truly determined. And you are being irrational. If it is an acceptable match and both are willing, there is no reason to stop them."

"And you would go ahead without me." Betrayal washed over Kagome, closely followed by anger. "You would let her go off to the East with someone who may hate her because it is a great political move."

"Only if she was willing." Sesshomaru could feel the roiling emotions in his mate, and it made no sense to him. 'What is wrong? She is willing, he has made an offer. Irrational, and I will not allow these nameless fears to stop an excellent match.'

"You'd do it." The miko was on her feet, her aura sending pins and needles across Sesshomaru's skin. "You would go behind my back and let your only daughter go to a land where they will hate her. I can't believe that you would do that. I thought you trusted me, and I'm saying that it would be a mistake to send her to Seiji without a courtship!"

"I have agreed to his visit and the courtship."

"But if Mizuki says she wants to go you will give her to Seiji. What if she's lying, or feels like she has to? What if Seiji is a complete bastard?" The miko started to stalk around Sesshomaru's desk, making him rise and back away from her. "And you would send my little girl to him just so you could have your alliance, and you would do it even though I _told_ you to stop?"

He could not lie to her. "I would not give her, but I would let her go."

"And you would ignore me to do it. You bastard. You unfeeling, ruthless bastard!" A pen was hurled at the taiyoukai, glowing with energy.

Ducking away, Sesshomaru tried to think of a way to stop this already insane situation. "Desist, miko. The male is coming for your inspection."

"You would send her away without me! I'm supposed to be your partner, you ass! How did you think I was going to react? You think this is bad, just wait until you actually do it. I'll find a way to kill you without taking myself out in the process!"

"If she wishes to be Lady of the East I will not stop her. She deserves to be a ruler of Japan."

"No, she deserves to be happy, but she would never disappoint her father like that. And you know it. She has always done anything you wanted without question. Quit acting like you are thinking about her!"

Control snapped as Sesshomaru towered over his mate. "Do not suggest that I would sacrifice her in such a way."

"Why not? You already said you would. Just don't expect me to stand quietly by like a good little female and let you get away with it." There was a final flare of energy, and Kagome stormed out of the room.

Blinking at the door that was still rattling on its rails, Sesshomaru tried to replay the argument in his mind and make sense of it. 'Her reaction was completely unexpected, even with her feelings on arrangements of this sort. I will not stop Mizuki. My daughter does deserve to be a ruler of Japan, but Kagome will not be forced either. She does not make idle threats. Somehow she must come to the decision to let Mizuki go, and without injuring either of us in the process.'

'She is making me soft. I should just tell her that it is my household, and my daughter, and yet I could not stand the look on her face when she thought that I would act without her. Damn her.' Now pacing in frustration, the taiyoukai tried to find a solution to his dilemma. 'I cannot leave her in this state, it solves nothing and does not bode well for my health.'

_You do not like the fact that she is upset, and you caused it._

Growling quietly, Sesshomaru stopped pacing and looked out the window, watching his daughter working with some of the Captains. 'No, I cannot stand feeling her upset and knowing that I am the cause. It is my duty to protect her, even from myself. She truly has me trained. A ningen. Any other I would eliminate for this behavior, but it is not even a viable thought with her.'

_You are not complaining._

'Hn.'

----

"You are not in the correct bed."

Kagome forced her swollen eyes open. She had fallen asleep crying, and now the source of her upset was standing right in front of her. "Get bent."

"Nani?"

"Never mind. Just go away."

Ignoring her protests and threats, Sesshomaru lifted her from the blankets and carried her to the room they shared. "No. You will sleep in the correct bed."

"What do you care where I sleep, you unfeeling pig?"

"Enough, miko." Sesshomaru set her on her feet and started to work on her clothing. "I have agreed to the courtship. What more do you wish for."

"I want you to promise you will not go behind my back and agree to this without me."

There was a long pause as Sesshomaru focused on the ties of his mate's clothing. He was not a creature that would break a promise, and he was very reluctant to make this one. "I promise."

She dropped into his arms, burying her face in his clothing. "Arigato, Sesshomaru. I was so worried."

"I still do not understand your upset, but I will not be the cause of it if avoidable."

"Can we just agree to disagree on this one? If Mizuki can convince me that it's a good idea I'll probably go with it. Unless he's a real ass, then I expect you to knock him around a bit."

"After you are done with him, I assume."

"But of course. Ladies first and all that."

"Will you trust my judgment in this matter?"

Kagome swallowed hard, keeping her eyes on the ground. "We grew up in two different worlds, Sesshomaru. I can't see how she would be happy with a mate that she didn't even like."

"And I do not see what the issue is. This is still my world, not yours."

"Only for a couple more centuries, and then I'll be the expert." Now wearing nothing more then her long hair, Kagome made her way to the correct bed. "Yes, this is your world still, and you understand more then I do. I promise that I'll listen to you, since you promised to not do anything without me."

"I wish for her happiness just as you do."

'Oops. I think I hurt him with the unfeeling pig comment. Or maybe it was yelling 'unfeeling, ruthless bastard' at him. Maybe both.' Casting a look back over her shoulder, Kagome smiled to her mate. "I know you do. Come to bed, jo-chan. I'm exhausted, and I think we've fought enough for one day."

A warm presence slid under the blankets next to her, pulling her close. There was a soft nuzzle at the back of her neck, making her sigh. 'No matter how annoying, rude, and demanding he is, I still love him. And even though he never says it, I know he loves me, too.'

"Goodnight, jo-chan."

"Goodnight, koishii."

----


	70. To Catch Her Eye

A/N: Okay, kids, please play nice with me. I fell off of my horse and he kind of rolled over on me. We aren't sure yet but I may have a concussion. I'm going to post this, since I happened to have it written, but please pardon any major errors or sloppy story telling. Hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow. Own nothing.

Oh yeah, and the 'Mizuki now has another pet dragon to train' comment? Priceless!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turning his head from side to side, Shippou pulled himself up to his full height. 'Not bad, not bad at all.' His reflection nodded back at him as he looked himself over.

The unruly red hair looked exactly the same as it had when he woke up, despite his best efforts, but changing into a sharp new outfit would hopefully take attention away from that little fact. He was dressed in blue now, and it seemed to work better then the red kimono he had just taken off. 'I'd really like to wear green, but I know Katsuro usually wears that color and I don't want to match him. Maybe that grey kimono and the black hakama. I'd look very serious and grown up then.'

Yet another outfit was tossed aside as Shippou changed again. 'Now I know why girls never seem to get ready on time for anything. This is harder then it looks.'

"Yo! Shippou! Breakfast!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be out in a minute." Tying on his latest selection, Shippou tried to ignore Katsuro's impatient tapping.

"What are you doing in there? You can usually go from bed to breakfast in about five minutes."

"I'm getting dressed, nosey!" There was a growl of frustration as Shippou started to untie the kimono. 'That makes me look more like an old man then anything.

"Dressed for what? It's just breakfast! Throw on something and get out here!"

"If you're in such a hurry, go without me! Geez!"

"Do you two have to yell in the hallway?" Kagome's voice brought the argument to a stop. "Either open the door or wait!"

"Gomen, Mama. I'll see you down there, Shippou."

'Thank goodness.' Pushing around his clothing yet again, the kitsune tried to make up his mind.

"Shippou-kun, are you all right in there?" Now it was Kagome's voice at his door.

'She could help with this.' Shippou slid the door open and yanked Kagome in. "Which one should I wear, Kagome-chan?"

"Shippou-kun, every piece of clothing you own is out! What are you doing?" Shocked eyes traveled over the disaster that was Shippou's room.

"Come on, Kagome-chan, which one? I kind of like the blue."

"Blue's nice. Green would be nice, too."

"Katsuro always wears green."

The miko's eyes narrowed. "What are you up to Shippou? Who are you dressing up for?"

"No one, Kagome-chan!"

"It can't be Mizuki, you see her everyday. I bet its Cho. You've never seen her before, and she's very pretty. That's it, isn't it? You like Cho!"

Shippou clapped a hand over the increasingly noisy Kagome's mouth. "Keep it down, would ya?"

Muffled comments continued behind Shippou's hand until he gave up and pulled it away.

"It's just so cute!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now can you help me pick out something to wear?"

"Of course I can. Since you don't want to wear what Katsuro is wearing, and he is wearing green today, you should go with the dark blue. It looks very nice with your hair. Did you brush your hair at all today?"

"Hai, Kagome-chan. This is what it always looks like." Shippou rummaged through the piles of clothing, looking for his hakama.

"Well, I think it makes you look ruggedly handsome." Kagome gave Shippou a shove. "If you'll sit down for a minute I think I can fix it a bit, though."

"Uh, sure, Kagome-chan."

Experienced fingers set to work taming the mess of flame colored hair. "I'm so glad that Mizuki and Katsuro inherited their father's hair. It's almost impossible to get tangled, and it lays down perfectly every time."

"We all know how perfect Katsuro's hair is."

"Oh, stop it, Shippou-kun. I have always loved your hair, and your fluffy tail. You look completely different from Katsuro, so don't get all huffy." 'It still boggles my mind every time I turn around and see that Shippou's taller then me and all grown up. I shouldn't be surprised that he's after Cho. He's always been a ladies' man, even though I think he has grown past presenting them with a single daisy and an adorable smile. Even though that would probably still work.'

Said tail twitched as the kitsune watched Kagome in the mirror. "So you think I stand a chance?"

"Of course you do. You're so much fun, and we already said ruggedly handsome. There." The once impossible mess was now neatly tied down so that it hung just past Shippou's shoulders. It was still trailing across his eyes, but to Kagome it just added to the mischievous look that had stayed with him even as an adult. "I'll see you at breakfast. Don't spend too long gawking in the mirror." Still giggling, Kagome let herself out.

'Ruggedly handsome. I could see that.' After changing into the blue silk, Shippou posed in front of the mirror again. 'Shippou, the great warrior, advisor to Merkamou-sama, and the breaker of hearts across Japan.'

----

"I don't like this."

"Kagome-sama, I am certain that everyone is aware of that."

"Oh, come on Kumo, you have to agree with me on this one."

The ever patient youkai set her pen down. "You are upsetting yourself unnecessarily. You have not even met him."

"But with this whole alliance thing riding on it Mizuki will never turn it down."

"Then perhaps you should remove the alliance part of the problem."

"Nani?" Kagome stopped pacing to drop down in front of Kumo's desk. "What do you mean?"

"If the alliance part is not dependent on this partnership, then Mizuki will feel free to make the choice for her own reasons."

"Kumo, you're a genius!" Several papers fluttered to the floor as Kagome grabbed a pen and paper.

_Akira-sama,_

_We are flattered by Seiji-san's offer for Mizuki-san. Would you consider having Seiji-san come to visit and meet my daughter to ensure that they are suited? I am certain that neither of us would like to have them in a situation in which they are poorly matched._

_It has occurred to me, with the treaty ending, that we should meet and discuss future relations. There are many ways to form an alliance, as well as partnering my daughter with your son. _

_Peace,_

_Lady Kagome_

"Well, what do you think?" The miko handed the note over to Kumo.

"It should put the correct idea into Akira-sama's mind. I can have it sent out today."

"But what do you think, Kumo? Unofficially, what do you think about all of this?"

Kumo blinked at her lady for a moment. "Unofficially? I would certainly agree with your reservations to send her off to live with a dragon. As you have said, there are other ways to make an alliance. They may not be as strong or long lasting, but it can be done. I know that I have not had many opportunities to see a dragon as anything other then an enemy, but having seen them that I way I cannot trust them."

"Are you worried that Seiji-san and Mizuki won't get along?"

"That would be the least of my worries when dealing with a dragon, Kagome-sama."

"But he's only half dragon."

"And that is why I think it is wise to meet him. He may be perfectly acceptable. Or he may be a heartless killer."

"You know that is how almost everyone describes Sesshomaru."

"But you know better, and I have known him most of his life. His heart is not missing, it is simply cold. He did bring my Kenshin back, and I do remember that it was a dragon that killed him to begin with."

"So you agree with me, that we should go slow with this?"

"Absolutely, Kagome-sama."

"How is the Captain, anyways? It seems like I hardly see him anymore now that Mizuki has taken over."

"He is enjoying his retirement yet again. He actually dabbles in weapon design, and has been focusing some time on that. I shall have him bring some of his pieces by for you to see."

There was a genuine smile at the offer. "Tell him to visit me anytime he wants to. And if he gets bored he can always come and yell at me for an hour or two. Its not hard work for him, but it always seems to make him happy."

"I will pass the offer along. He may take you up on it, you realize."

"Hai, but I can't think of a better reward for him then just standing there and letting him yell whatever new insults he has come up with. I know I'm not Rin-chan, but it may still be fun for him."

"He still does not speak of her much. He has said that a teacher is lucky to have a student like her once in a lifetime, and to lose her in such a short amount of time . . . "

As always, talking about Rin made Kagome's heart contract. "Sesshomaru is the same way. It wasn't fair. Thank goodness Merkamou had Yuriko and Akane, or I don't know if he would've made it. I couldn't find a way to keep her alive like me. I can hardly remember that I'm a ningen some days, since I don't see anyone but youkai anymore. I visit the youkai exterminators sometimes, but since Sango, Mirokou, and their children passed on it's been more distant."

"It is easy for everyone to forget, Kagome-sama. You have a youkai's lifespan now, and the scent of Sesshomaru-sama is always around you."

"Now if only I could have the youkai hearing I'd be all set. Or the sense of smell. I'd love to be able to tell when Katsuro was trying to get something past me."

"You seem to manage your children just fine using your own instincts."

"The barrier trick is great, too. I don't know how anyone could raise children without it."

----

"Why are you up there, Cho?"

"I was trying to practice."

"On the roof?"

Cho gave Mizuki a look of distilled frustration. "I have been trying to find a quiet place to practice ever since I found a koto in the library, but everywhere I go those two idiots seem to be right there."

There was no sound as Mizuki landed next to Cho on the roof. "So you are on the roof to avoid my brother and his companion."

"Hai. I cannot even practice up here, the roof is too slanted and they are still too loud! What are they doing, anyways?"

On the grass Shippou and Katsuro seemed to be practicing. With closer inspection, Mizuki came to a conclusion. "I believe they are being fools, Cho."

"Well, they should do that somewhere away from me, or be quiet when they do it!" The leopard crossed her arms and glared at the males.

Katsuro was moving in a most peculiar fashion, at least to Mizuki's eyes. His usually subtle and graceful style had been replaced by grandiose swings and posturing. Shippou was not being quick and tricky, but was instead using flashy magic to try and get past his opponent. In short, they were showing off. Even as she studied her brother's movements one of his grand swings got caught in the branches of a tree and his hands were suddenly empty. He stood under the tree, looking around as he tried to figure out how that had happened.

The opportunity was ruined for Shippou when his complicated, eye catching attack completely missed his unarmed adversary.

"I thought you said your brother was a talented fighter." Cho was not impressed by the performance in front of her.

"Usually he is. I am not sure what he is doing now."

"Right now I think I could defeat him."

The sword fell from the branches and hit its owner on the top of the head, much to the females' delight. Katsuro rubbed his head and looked up at the giggling spectators. 'I don't think this is working out quite the way I wanted it to.'

"Cho, can I ask for your opinion on something?"

"Of course. It seems that I won't be able to do much until they are tired, so I am glad for the company and the distraction." Leaning back to rest on the roof, Cho kept an eye on the show in front of her while listening to her friend.

"There has been an offer from your nephew, Seiji."

"Really? I never would have seen that coming. We all know Isamu-kun's opinion of hanyou's, and Seiji has never acted like he thought any different."

"I was afraid of that." Mizuki's eyes slid shut. "It is difficult to refuse such an offer."

"You want to be Lady of the East, don't you?"

"Hai."

"Well, I guess the choice is up to Sesshomaru-sama. No need for you to worry about it."

"That is not how my family works, actually. The choice may very well lay with me." Uneasy fingers pulled the long white braid over Mizuki's shoulder and toyed with the ends. "Mother is insisting on a courtship."

The most recent magical attack from Shippou had hit its target, and sent Katsuro flying in one direction with his sword flying in the other.

"Down!" The hanyou flattened her friend, getting them both out of the way of the weapon. "Baka! The next one to endanger us will be trying to fight with their throat ripped out!"

"Gomen, Mizuki! Gomen, Cho-san!" "Gomen, Ki-chan! Gomen, Cho-san!"

A quick check assured Cho that she had not been injured, so she simply dismissed the incident. "I have not seen Seiji in ages, but he rather reminded me of Akira-sama. You might get along with him, actually. He's very calm and collected. And quite the fighter, according to Isamu-kun."

"Promising." Rebellious thoughts echoed in the back of Mizuki's mind, but she shut them out as was her habit. "He will be coming here to visit."

"It would be nice if that happened while I was still here. It would be interesting to see him again."

"And you could help with this decision. If we are truly incompatible I may have to refuse."

"It would have to be pretty bad to refuse that offer, but better that then getting a message that my family won't let me see you anymore because you killed my nephew." Cho smiled as Shippou's latest attack knocked a branch off of the innocent tree instead of hitting Katsuro. "They truly are amusing, aren't they?"

"I doubt that is their intention.

"Are you going to give up, Katsuro? Since you can't even handle a sword, I mean." Shippou was quite convinced that he had the upper hand now. Sure, he had missed a few times, but at least he had not hit himself with his own weapon and he had disarmed Katsuro.

"Oh, you want to see me with a different weapon? Hey Ki-chan! Can I borrow your naginata?"

Mizuki's eyes narrowed. Katusuro had never even picked up a naginata before, as far as she knew. "If you think that is wise, shetai."

"Just let me borrow it."

"Hn." Mizuki jumped down from the building and disappeared inside.

"You're just going to get yourself hurt, Katsuro. Quit trying to show off." Shippou had a smug expression as he tried to not look at Cho.

"I can handle more then a sword." Trying to feel as confident as he was acting, Katsuro paced while waiting for his sister.

"If you are injured, do not blame me." Mizuki offered her weapon to her brother with some trepidation.

"Don't worry about it, Ki-chan."

Mizuki rejoined Cho as Katsuro made some swings to warm up. "You're in trouble now, Shippou."

"Mizuki, has your brother ever worked with a naginata before?" Cho watched as Katsuro misjudged the distance and actually cut a lock of Shippou's hair off.

"Watch it, would ya?"

"I do not believe so." There was a combination of concern and amusement in Mizuki's eyes as she watched her brother fumble.

"Then why would you ever let him borrow it now?"

"I simply had to see this for myself."

"What is it about males that they must insist on showing off whenever they have an audience?"

'Actually, I have never seen either of them act this way. It must be Cho's influence. Unbelievable.'

Shippou was less then eager to come near Katsuro with the deadly blade in untrained hands. "Okay, Katsuro, you've had your fun. Now put that thing down before you hurt yourself."

"I thought you wanted to fight, Shippou." Katsuro spun the blade, making it whistle in the air.

"Sure, but I wasn't planning on dying today." After a few moments of hesitation, Shippou threw caution to the wind and dove in. He certainly would not be retreating with the audience watching him so closely.

It was not as bad as Mizuki had feared. After a few mistakes her brother seemed to have the idea and was able to hold his friend off for a time. When his grip wobbled, Shippou went for the opening. The inu-hanyou fell back, swinging the naginata up sharply to fend him off. There was a hard blow as Shippou blocked, and Katsuro lost control. He was so desperate to avoid hurting his friend that he let the shaft pivot in his hands, and the weighted end cracked him in the chin with enough force to drop him to the ground.

"Katsuro!"

Mizuki was not even aware that she had called out until she saw Cho looking at her. Her brother was blinking with a dazed expression as Shippou shook him by the shoulders. She forced herself to resettle on the roof. "Baka."

"It's too bad. He was doing rather well up until that point." Cho gave a long stretch. "Since they seem to be done practicing, perhaps I can finally have some peace."

"It would seem so. Katsuro is still down."

"Go check on him before you worry yourself to death."

Mizuki's cold glare was answered with a giggle.

"I promise I will tell no one that you were worried. Now just go." Cho dropped off of the roof and retrieved the koto.

"Katsuro? Can you hear me?" Shippou gave his friend another shake. "Say something!"

"How about quit shaking me?" Blinking slowly, Katsuro looked around. "What happened?"

"A beginner's mistake." Mizuki came up next to Shippou, watching her brother with her weapon back in her own hand. "You were hit in the head with your own weapon. Again."

"That thing hurts."

"Hai."

'And Cho saw the whole thing. Not once, but twice I got hit with my own weapon. I don't know if there is any recovery from that.' The world still seemed rather mobile, so Katsuro sat up very slowly. "I take back everything I have ever said about that thing being all show."

"Hn." Mizuki lifted Katsuro's chin. He had split the skin open, but it was already healing. "There is no serious damage."

"Maybe you knocked some sense into yourself. What were you thinking?" Shippou was still kneeling next to his friend, but had stopped shaking him.

"He was not."

"Knock it off, Ki-chan. My aching head is already telling me loud and clear that it was not a good idea. I'll keep my hands off of that thing until I know how to use it."

"And now you should go and change before mother asks about the blood on your clothing."

"Hai. Shippou, can you help me up? I just know I've rattled some things loose this time."

Shippou hauled his friend to his feet. "Oh, like that's something you needed."

----

'Nobody would recognize her like this. With her hair down and dressed for sleep, she seems so much softer.' "Ki-chan? Can I talk to you?"

"Hai." Mizuki was sprawled out on her futon, dressed in a dark blue yukata with reports and documents scattered all around her. She set her work aside and shook her hair back, looking up to her rather upset brother. "How is your head?"

"Better. It's pretty much healed already." Pushing a pile of papers over, he dropped down to join her. "I made a real idiot of myself today."

"Hai."

"I wanted to show what kind of a fighter I am."

"You were showing off."

"Hai." Katsuro rubbed his chin. "It didn't work."

"Of course not."

"And are you going to tell me why it didn't work?"

"Because you were not fighting. I am not sure what it was, but it was very foolish." Mizuki sighed and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. "You were showing off for Cho."

"No! Of course not!"

"Katsuro."

"Okay, I was. A little bit, anyways. It doesn't matter, now she thinks I'm a complete idiot and won't ever want to talk to me again. At least I gave her a good laugh."

"And you would like to know what you should do now."

Katsuro dropped onto his back so he could glare at the ceiling. "I don't seem to be doing so well on my own, and I always figure that when I'm doing something really stupid I should ask you what to do."

"Stop showing off, baka."

"Hey! No need for name calling."

"You are behaving as a baka, I will call you a baka."

"Fine. So I quit showing off. Then what? I just let her ignore me?"

"Have you considered talking to her?"

"About what?"

"I will leave that to you to figure out."

A sharp poke was aimed at Mizuki. "Gee, thanks."

"I cannot do everything for you."

"So I just talk to her? And that's it? Is that really going to work?"

"It cannot be worse then what you have already tried."

"True." The emerald eyes turned from the ceiling to Mizuki. "Why doesn't my mind seem to work around her? Everywhere else I'm pretty clever, and usually I can manage a fight without hitting myself in the head. She's the only one that I'm trying to impress, but nothing seems to go right around her."

"You are crossing into mother's territory." Mizuki looked out the window, watching the stars. "I cannot advise strategy in this area."

"What are you talking about? I just don't want to look like an idiot."

"You have feelings for Cho."

"You can still help me not be an idiot."

There was a soft growl. "That is always a difficult task."

There was another sharp poke in the aloof female's side.

"Desist. I do not know why your mind does not work correctly around her. Perhaps it is because you are trying so hard."

"Huh. Maybe. So, maybe I should pretend that it's just Cho?"

The blue eyes slanted over to glance at her brother. "Shetai? It is Cho."

"I mean the old Cho that used to pick on me, instead of this new Cho-san."

"An excellent idea, since that is who she is."

"Okay, so now I have a plan. I can do that. Arigato, Ki-chan!"

'That constitutes a plan?' Long after her brother had run out the door again, Mizuki gazed out the window. She finally shook herself and pushed her work aside so she could sleep. Her little brother had a crush on Cho, and from the looks of things, so did Shippou. Not that Cho had noticed either of them as anything more then entertainment. 'This cannot possibly end well. Foolish creatures.'


	71. Bright Idea

A/N: There's one bonus to my staying home due to the silly pony forgetting he has four feet. Quick updates! Thanks to my well wishers, and I'll do my best to avoid anymore knocks to the head. I don't want to rattle any of my story out of place. Maybe I need to get some hobbies where I won't be injured all the time. Hmmm. Anyways, enjoy.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Shit!"

"Language, Mama." Mizuki looked up from her own work to find her mother in the doorway.

"Merkamou lost an entire squad that was out patrolling." Kagome quickly crossed the room to hand the message to her daughter.

"I helped to train this Captain, what happened?"

"Ningens. They were all killed by a group of ningens."

Mizuki sat frozen, no longer looking at the message but staring into space with her eyes unfocused. "I have a small unit that has not reported on time. I thought that they were just behind schedule and was not concerned, since they were in ningen territory."

"You may want to check on them."

"Ningens." Scanning over the message, the usually pale face lost what little color it held. "There was a trap, and they had some new weapons. There was one survivor that went back to Merkamou."

"The ningens have been after him for ages now, and they're starting to get really good at it."

"I must check on my unit."

Kagome's daughter was gone before her mother could say another word.

'It's started. I knew the youkai would fall to the ningens, but I just kept thinking that it would be some time later in the future. I guess it's now. Everyone's in danger now. Sesshomaru, Merkamou, and all of the youkai will be hunted down. So will the hanyous. My children.'

Pacing in her daughter's empty office, Kagome tried to keep panic at bay. 'We can hide. I'm a ningen, and I know I can keep them out of sight. Katsuro's not bad, except for the ears, but we can hide those. That's what baseball caps are for, after all. Mizuki won't look any weirder then Inuyasha did, and she'll behave herself. Sesshomaru . . . oh, that'll be fun. No, honey, don't strike that man down for whistling at me. Or that one for looking at you funny. Or that one for breathing too loud.'

Kagome suddenly realized where she was and took herself back to her own study. 'Okay, so we get a house in the country, so Sesshomaru can be a weird recluse. That's fine. Then what? We just pretend that he's not the Lord of the Western Lands? Well, what's he going to be Lord of when the ningens take over? What if the others are destroyed? They won't know what's coming and they won't know that they have to hide. I can't risk Merkamou and Yuriko like that. Or Hideaki and Mayu. Isamu . . . nope, not even him.'

Pacing around her own study, Kagome was completely ignored by her assistant and her son. 'And Kumo, and the Captain, and Jaken. We have to get all of them out of sight. I have to let the others know, so they can at least have a chance. I never saw youkai in Tokyo, and least not that I noticed. Were they all destroyed? Is this all pointless? Or were they just hidden that well? I'm giving myself a headache, and then Sesshomaru's going to be in here telling me to knock it off. I'm getting too wound up to even think straight.'

"Kumo, distract me."

"There is a message from Akira on your desk."

"Perfect!" Stepping over Katsuro and Shou, the Lady of the West went to her desk and broke open her message. 'No blossom, so it's just a reply. Thank goodness.' "Looks like we have company coming."

"Yeah? Who?" Her son was lying on his back, playing with Shou. The dragon was producing little growls as he pounced on Katsuro.

"Focus, Katsuro-kun. Who have we been expecting?"

"Since when does us expecting someone have anything to do with who shows up and when?"

"Okay, okay, you have a point. Akira says that Seiji is heading out. He's probably on his way already."

"Does this qualify as an honored guest?"

A ball of paper was chucked at Katsuro. "Yes, you have to behave yourself. At least for a couple of days. Then we can let him meet the real family."

"Oh well. I'm sure Mizuki will be all excited to have her new boyfriend out for a visit."

"You better not let her hear you saying that. I sure won't stop her."

"I'm feeling so loved." Tackling Shou, Katsuro sat up to look at his mother. "So now what? He comes out, you look him over. I know what will happen if he fails, but what if he passes?"

"That's up to Mizuki. Akira wrote that she's willing to look at other ways to form an alliance, so that doesn't depend on her being with this Seiji fellow. I'd like it if she would fall in love."

"I don't think you'll be able to get her to unbend for that long."

"That's no way to talk about your sister!"

"But its true, and you know it."

"Hai." Kagome dropped her chin into her hands. "What are we going to do with her?"

"I've been worrying about this for days, and you know what I figured out? I'm not going to worry about it anymore. She doesn't want the same things that I want, so how can I tell her what to do?"

"Good point. I mean, she is a lot like your father, and he's not exactly a die hard romantic."

"I've met rocks that were more romantic then father."

"Wow, you really must be looking for a beating. Keep talking like that and I'm sure one of them will overhear you."

"I'll take my chances. They're going to find an excuse to beat up on me either way, so I might as well say whatever I want in the mean time."

"Just don't go and get yourself killed. You're my one hope for a great romance in the family, so try to stay alive at least that long." Kagome was shocked when her son actually blushed. "Okay, what is it?"

"What is what?"

"You're blushing. Don't try to hide it. Who is she?"

"Feeling just a little bit like a hunted animal now, Mama."

"Oh my goodness! You really do like someone! Come on, tell who it is. Is it Roka's daughter? She's been watching you for years now. Oh, I know, it's Marise! I saw you talking to her a couple of weeks ago."

"No to both, Mama. Can't you just let it go?"

"First Shippou and now you. It's been a long time since . . . oh no. It's not Cho, is it?"

"Of course not! I can't stand her!"

"Oh no. You like Cho."

Jumping to his feet, Katsuro roamed about his mother's study. "You're being ridiculous, Mama. I've known Cho for ages, and we never have gotten along."

"Yeah, but the last time you saw her you still thought girls were icky. Now she's a beautiful lady, and I think you've finally noticed."

"Noticed what? She's just as annoying as ever."

"And Shippou likes her, too. Oh, please don't start fighting about her."

"Stop!" Katsuro's sudden outburst startled everyone, including Shou. The dragon shot out the window to find Mizuki. "Great, now she's going to want to know what I did to Shou."

"Gomen, Katsuro-kun. I just don't want the two of you to fight over something like this. You've been friends for almost your entire life."

"Don't worry about it, Mama. Everything will be fine."

----

"I have an idea."

'Kami, please save me from my mate and her ideas.' Sesshomaru did not pause in his drill, but he did spare a glance for the excited ningen. "Hai."

"We need to talk this whole treaty thing through with Akira, right? And we need to talk to Merkamou about the ningen attack. Why not do both at the same time? And if we bring in Hideaki, you guys can all figure out what you're going to do."

"What do you mean? What do we need to plan?"

Kagome looked all around before continuing. "I told you what the future was like. The youkai aren't in charge, the ningens are. And I told you about what they can do, and the weapons they come up with. The youkai that are left are in hiding, and for good reason. If anyone figured it out, there would be mass panic and medical experiments and all sorts of nasty stuff."

"We have discussed this."

"I think we're getting to the point in time where the youkai need to start making themselves scarce. Merkamou has had nothing but trouble since that miko attacked him and Rin-chan all those years ago, and the weapons just keep getting better and better. And they are spreading all over! Just think about the Edo of the future, with millions of people in one city."

"Are you suggesting that we tell everyone about the future?"

"Not really, that would be bad, but we need to try and convince them that the youkai are not going to rule forever. Or even much longer, from the looks of it. Even you've been having trouble, but its easier for you since your mate is not only amazing, she's a ningen." Smiling brightly, Kagome clasped her hands behind her back and rocked up on her toes.

"And why will we spend this time convincing them of what is coming?"

"Because I don't want them to be hunted down. No matter what happens I'm going to tell Merkamou to hide, since I don't want anything to happen to him, but we really should tell the others. I don't even want Isamu to be hunted down like an animal. If everyone starts to disappear now the ningens will just forget about the youkai. Now is not the time for worrying about attacking each other, or none of you are going to see my time."

"You are exaggerating."

"I told you about those bombs when the whole world went to war, right? Do you honestly think you could survive something like that? And they'd use it on youkai, if they thought it was dangerous enough."

"Hn."

"Merkamou and Hideaki are your allies, do you want to see them killed by a mob of ningens?"

"Hideaki is not officially an ally, but I would not wish for him to die in that manner." The miko was glaring again, so Sesshomaru continued. "Or Merkamou."

"And I don't want Akira to die that way, so that means we need to get all of them together."

"They will never agree to that. It is far too much of a risk to gather all of the Lords in one place, short of the occasional war."

"You have no idea what kind of power I have, do you?" The bright smile darkened to something that reminded Sesshomaru of his daughter. "I can make it happen. If I can get them to agree, will you come?"

"If you can arrange it, yes." 'She does have a point. Her time is ruled by the ningens, and I would rather have the youkai alive but waiting in the wings.'

"Great! It's been so long since I've seen Akira or Isamu. Since their son is looking at Mizuki, it's probably good that we get to see them again."

"How will you convince them of the fall of the youkai without revealing your own past? Future?" The taiyoukai paused in his drill, trying to decide on which word was more accurate.

"Don't worry about that part. Just worry about bullying them when they refuse, because you know they will. This will be so much easier if everyone just disappears. We don't need any troublemakers reminding the ningens that we're here."

"You are a ningen as well."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But someone has to look out for the youkai of Japan."

Sesshomaru stopped completely to look at her. "We do not need to be watched over."

"That's what you think. Just wait until I have access to a car again."

----

Looking all about, Cho sighed with relief when she saw no one. Shippou had been following her again, and she had been trying to lose him for over an hour. Finally she could have some peace and quiet. She clutched her reading in one hand and a blanket in the other, making her way through the gardens to the spot she had picked out. It was a lovely cherry tree that was just starting to bloom. Absolutely perfect for a session of peaceful reading, and a respite from this insane family.

'I will be forever thankful to Mizuki for bringing me here, but they are just so unusual! I can trace most of it to the unusual miko that Sesshomaru took as his mate. She is so bold and loud. It's just downright masculine. How did she ever attract a male as powerful as Sesshomaru?' Settling under the tree, Cho opened her reading to the poem she had left off on. The wind was in the leaves, and the scent of the cherry blossoms was all around her. 'Nirvana.'

A soft snore startled her, and she looked up to see black hair and the sleeve of a green kimono.

"Ahh!"

"Ahh!" Katsuro jerked awake and promptly fell out of the tree, landing a handspan away from Cho with papers fluttering down around him. "Ow."

"What do you think you're doing, Katsuro-san? Can you not leave me alone?"

"Leave you alone? I was sound asleep when you woke me up, baka!" Snapping his head up, Katsuro gave Cho a sharp look. "It's not all about you!"

"So you were not following me?"

"No. I was going over some stuff for Ki-chan when I dozed off. You try reading some of this junk without falling asleep, but I told her I would check them over for her. It was quite a nice nap, actually, until someone woke me up and I fell out of the tree!"

"Oh." Blushing, Cho looked at the ground. "Gomen nasai, Katsuro-san."

Realizing who he was talking to and what he sounded like, Katsuro blushed in return. "It's okay, Cho-san. I was just surprised."

"So Mizuki has you helping with reports? How dull."

"Very. Believe it or not, she's pretty bad at writing out her ideas. They make perfect sense to her, and sometimes me, but no one else. And her calligraphy! I'm kind of a translator, and I go over her stuff and make it make sense. As much as I can, anyways. I usually help her keep up on the reports and stuff, and I keep an eye on the spies that father has out. It keeps me out of trouble."

"Mizuki will be very annoyed when she learns that you fell asleep on the job."

"She won't know unless you tell her."

"Oh, I had not thought of that." Cho looked up to the blossoms above her. "I guess it is all up to me, then."

"And here I thought you had grown out of this. What's the price this time, leopard?"

"I will think of something, I am sure."

"Great. Just great." Gathering up his scattered reports, Katsuro looked down at Cho's book. "So, what are you reading?"

"Poetry."

"By who?"

"You would not know him, Katsuro-san. Somehow I doubt that you would be interested in any of these authors."

"The year's first day  
thoughts and loneliness;  
the autumn dusk is here." (1)

Katsuro looked quite smug as he finished.

Cho's mouth dropped open. "Nani? Where did that come from?"

"Matsuo Basho. Ever heard of him?"

"No, I have not heard of him before, but it's lovely." Looking around, Cho dropped her voice to a conspirator's whisper. "Do you want to hear my favorite?"

"Sure."

"I do not play to please others.

Alone I play, alone I sing,

And this brings joy to my heart." (2)

"I recognize that one, I think. Is it from "Hojoki"?"

"Is this some sort of a trick? How would you know that?"

"Don't tell anyone, and I'll let you in on a secret." Katsuro dropped his voice to a stage whisper. "I read poetry."

"I cannot believe this."

"Neither can Ki-chan, actually. She's been taunting me about it for years, but I don't know if she's much of a judge. If it doesn't involve defeating her enemies, whoever they are, she doesn't seem to have time."

"Come on, tell me another one, just so I will believe you."

"Clouds appear  
and bring to men a chance to rest  
from looking at the moon." (3)

Shaking her head in wonder, Cho set her book down to focus on Katsuro. "And you can do this from memory?"

"Just the haikus, and then just my favorites. Anything longer then that and I need to have it written down. I recognize parts, like the one you said, but I can't recite them."

"Why do you read poetry, Katsuro-san?"

The blush was back. "I don't know. I just like it. Some of them are funny, and some make you think, and then there are the ones . . ."

"That take your breath away."

"Exactly. I have some more that I don't think you've read, they're by the same guy. I could lend them to you, if you wanted."

"And I have one that you should borrow. It's by a member of father's court, but he is very good. I think you would like him. I have it here, so I can give it to you later."

"Arigato, Cho-san."

"Would you like to hear some more of my favorite? It's not very often I have someone to enjoy my poetry with."

"Sure, Cho-san."

----

"Here, try it again Katsuro."

Gritting his teeth, the inu-hanyou tried yet again to toss Shippou to the ground but failed. "How the hell are you doing that?"

"Being the strongest isn't everything you know." Catching his friend by the arm, Shippou tossed him to the ground. "Don't just yank on me, use your whole body."

"Ugh. Can't we go help Ki-chan or something? This hurts."

"You wanted me to show you what Yuriko and I were working on, and this is it. You're just annoyed that I'm beating you."

"Sure, I'll admit it. I like it better when you're the one flat out in the grass."

Shippou smiled and pulled his friend back up. "After this we can go annoy Mizuki. She's been stuck inside all day and Shou's moping."

"You know, if we work together we could probably get most of her backlog taken care of and she would be free."

"Paperwork? No way!"

"Please, Shippou? I'll let you beat up on me again tomorrow if you help me. One way or another I'm getting Ki-chan out of that office, and if you help I won't have to spend all day doing it."

"Fine. We can do paperwork. I call doing the ledgers! I like playing with her abacus."

"Just try to get some of the numbers right this time."

"Katsuro-san?"

Both males pivoted at the soft voice.

"Hai, Cho-san?"

"Here is the book I told you about. I hope you enjoy it." Cho held out a small volume.

"Arigato, Cho-san. I still need to grab that book for you. I think it's in my room. I can drop it off with you after dinner."

"At your leisure, Katsuro-san." With a small bow, Cho walked back up to the palace.

Katsuro whacked himself on the forehead with the book. "I can't believe I forgot to get that book for her. She's been waiting for two days, and I haven't even started looking for it. It's got to be in my room somewhere."

Shippou had a strange look on his face. "You're loaning each other books? What's this about?"

"Huh? Oh, its nothing." Pulling the book close so Shippou couldn't see what it was, Katsuro started to back away. "Weren't we going to go save Ki-chan?"

"Not until you tell me why you're hiding that book. What is it? What are you two doing?"

"It's nothing! Really! Now drop it."

"Let me see it!" Shippou made a leap for Katsuro and the book, just barely missing. His second leap caught his friend across the small of his back and sent them both to the ground.

"Get off of me, you whacko!" Katsuro tried to squirm away without damaging the book, but Shippou was sitting on him.

"If it's nothing, then let me see it!"

Tousling ensued, and Shippou finally leapt away with the book in hand. "What the hell? Poetry?"

"Hai, poetry, now give it back! Cho-san is going to have a fit if something happens to it."

"Why are you reading poetry? Would you sink that low just to talk to her?"

"Fine, fine, I've been reading this stuff for a long time now. There, you happy?"

"Yeah, right. You're pretending to read this stuff just to spend time with her."

"Quit being jealous! It's nothing!"

"I'm not jealous, just surprised that my friend would lie just to get in with some annoying female."

"You are too jealous! I'm not lying, now give it back!" Katsuro lunged, dragging Shippou down.

"Get off of me, you big fat liar!"

"Give me back my poetry!"

----

'What was that?' Kagome went to her window to watch as Katsuro tackled Shippou. 'Give me back my poetry? That doesn't make any sense. When I picked this room I wanted a view of the gardens. I never expected to find so many fights out there. Oh look, Shippou just bit Katsuro's ear.'

"Let go of my ear, asshole!"

'Just great.' "Mizuki!"

----

Alone in her study, Mizuki let her forehead hit her desk. 'I will never get done at this rate. Now what?' Her frustrated movements sent papers fluttering across the floor as she marched towards her mother's voice.

"Hai."

"Take a look at this."

Katsuro had Shippou down, but the kitsune still had a death grip on the book. "Give it back!"

"I do believe Katsuro is bleeding, Mama." Mizuki continued to watch as Shippou got one arm loose and connected with Katsuro's jaw. 'I would be willing to bet my naginata that this is due to Cho.'

"Could you be a dear and break them up before they really get hurt?"

"May I borrow this?" Mizuki lifted Kagome's staff from its resting place in the corner.

"As long as I don't have to get the healer afterwards."

"I will show restraint." Vaulting out the window, the hanyou walked across the grass towards the fight.

"Today, Mizuki!"

"Hai, Mama."

Katsuro never actually saw his sister. One second he had Shippou down and was trying to throttle him, and the next he was flying through the air, courtesy of a staff swung into his side.

Not one to pass up on an opportunity, Shippou tried to bolt with the book in hand, but found himself on the receiving end of Mizuki's tight grip. With his paws several inches off the ground, running no longer seemed like an option.

"What is going on?"

Shippou's eyes flickered everywhere but at the icy gaze directed at him. Behind Mizuki, Katsuro was picking himself up again. "Give it back!"

"Urk!" The kitsune struggled again when he saw the black haired hanyou coming for him.

"Stop." Mizuki snapped the staff up, holding off her brother. "No one moves until I know the cause of this."

"Interesting."

_Danger._

Instincts came to the fore as Mizuki dropped Shippou and shoved her brother behind her. Staff at guard, she put herself between him and the intruder. Watching them was a male, smirking at the tussle. Recognition kicked in for Mizuki. "Seiji-san."

"And you must be Mizuki-san. How fascinating."

Mizuki's eyes narrowed. 'I hate him already.'

----

(1) Matsuo Basho (1644 – 1694), courtesy of http/ www. toyomasu. Com / haiku /

(2) "Hojoki" by Kamo no Chomei (1212)

(3) Matsuo Basho (1644 – 1694), courtesy of http/ www. toyomasu. Com / haiku /


	72. That Dragon

A/N: Another big thank you to my well wishers. Alas, my little knock to the head does not seem to have had any affect on my personality, so I shall remain wench-like. Geus, how do we know it was really ningens that wrote that? What if they were youkai and the ningens rewrote history? History is written by the victors and all that. Oh, you want the truth? Well then, I can't write poetry, and as long as I'm using it I better cite it. And Katsuro wouldn't have an issue with ningen poetry, he's a hanyou. Roll with me on the ningen threat. Nothing is ever as it seems. Whispering Angel, Akane is Merkamou's oldest sister, she is mentioned a couple of times at the end of MM.

And now we shall throw Seiji into a pit of ferocious, angry dogs for everyone's amusement. Yea!

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Seiji looked over the home of the Lord of the West. 'Not bad. I had expected a fortress like Hideaki's, but this is considerably more luxurious. Not what I would have expected from the cold bastard that rules here.'

The guards were alert and challenged him as he approached, but they had also been waiting for him. He was allowed in with little fuss, and given an escort to the front hall. His eyes roamed everywhere as he walked through the courtyard, taking in the complex.

"Get off of me, you big fat liar!"

"Give me back my poetry!"

'Nani?' Ignoring the guards' protests, Seiji veered off to follow the sounds of fighting. He found two young males wrestling on the ground. One was obviously a kitsune, while the other had long black hair and pointed ears on top of his head.

'That must be the hanyou son, and the future Lord of the West. I think I will need to annex the West as soon as this one takes power. It would be such a waste of an opportunity to let any of the other lords defeat him first.' The hanyou now had the kitsune down and it looked like he was strangling the smaller male.

"Today, Mizuki!"

"Hai, Mama."

There was a blur of white, and the hanyou son was sent flying.

'Well, hello there. Nice form, and excellent distance.' Chuckling, Seiji moved in closer. He could hear the female interrogating the two males in a cold voice, holding her brother off with the staff. "Interesting."

The reaction was everything he could have hoped for. The female dropped the kitsune and shoved her brother behind her. Most interesting of all, there was a heat in her eyes that caught him off guard. Slightly crouched, with her staff ready to defend herself and the males behind her, she looked fierce. 'This cannot possibly be the icicle that my father was describing. There is quite a bit of fire in this female.'

_Dangerous._

In an instant the look had passed, and the eyes had cooled back to an icy stare. "Seiji-san."

"And you must be Mizuki-san. How fascinating."

The cold eyes narrowed, and instead of relaxing her guard her hands tightened on her weapon. Her brother had moved up beside her, and she did not push him back. Now both pairs of eyes were watching him closely, looking for him to make a threatening move.

----

'What is Mizuki doing?' Kagome watched as Katsuro was shoved behind his sister.

"Seiji-san."

'Uh oh!' Leaping out the window, the miko darted across the grass. 'This isn't good.'

The strange male looked over to her as she came running up. "And you must be Kagome-sama. You are just as my mother described you."

"And why doesn't that sound like a compliment coming from you?" Realizing what she had said, Kagome clapped a hand over her mouth.

"No insult was intended, Kagome-sama." Seiji bowed to the little miko. "I was on my way to greet you and Sesshomaru-sama when I was distracted."

"And I'll be talking to you two about that later." Kagome gave her son and his friend a quick glare before turning her eyes back to Seiji. "I better get you inside to meet Sesshomaru-sama before he comes out here to find us. It's fine, Mizuki. He's supposed to be here, and he's not a threat to me."

The Commander of Kagome's guard did not seem to agree with her. "He is not acting in a non-threatening manner."

"Just leave it, Mizuki." Crossing her arms, the Lady stared at her overly protective daughter. "Stand down, Commander!"

Slamming the end of the staff into the ground with a little more force then necessary, Mizuki finally looked away from Seiji. "Hai, my lady."

"Come with me, Seiji-san."

The guards cowered under Mizuki's glare. "Follow him, and if he deviates at all from the Lady's orders, take him down."

"Hai, Commander." The guards ran to catch up, sticking to Seiji like glue.

"That went well." Katsuro stood at his sister's side and watched the dragon until he disappeared inside.

"That was not the initial impression I had desired to make."

"Me neither."

"Stop, Shippou."

The kitsune froze, his escape thwarted.

"Whatever you have, drop it."

"It's Cho's." Shippou held the book out to Mizuki.

"Cho's?" The pale hands turned the book over, recognizing the cover. "This is one of Cho's favorites. Did you steal this from her, shetai?"

"Nani? No, I didn't steal it! She lent it to me!"

Mizuki opened the cover and scanned a page. "Ah, now I see." She handed the book over to her brother.

"What? That's it?" Shippou looked back and forth between the two hanyou.

"What else would there be? Cho lent a book to Katsuro, and I do not see what business it is of yours."

"So you're in on this too, huh? Fine, then." Stomping his little paws every step of the way, Shippou stormed off.

"He doesn't believe that I read poetry." Katsuro checked the book over. "At least it's not damaged. Cho would have my hide for a new rug."

"That she would."

----

'This is fun. What is it with this family and guests?' Kagome watched as Mizuki and Katsuro took turns glaring at Seiji, who was watching Mizuki with great amusement. Shippou was ignoring everyone except Cho, and putting on a great martyr act. Even Sesshomaru had caught on to the odd behavior and was watching more then ignoring.

The siblings had rearranged their usual seating, moving Cho next to Shippou so that they could sit together and face Seiji. Katsuro was far more concerned about the male across from him then he was about Shippou sitting next to Cho. The dragon was highly amused at the unified front they presented.

"So, Seiji-san, tell us something about yourself." The awkward silence was more then Kagome could handle, and she fully intended to bring it to an end.

"There is not much to tell, Kagome-sama. You have already met my family. I spend my time training and learning of my future role as Lord of the East." Seiji looked over to Kagome. "What else would an heir do?"

'Hey!' Katsuro bristled at the implied comment.

"You have to have some free time. What do you do when you have a few moments to yourself?" Kagome felt like she was hitting her head against a brick wall that just kept smiling at her attempts.

"I do go hunting on occasion, but I have little time for myself."

"That sounds like Mizuki. I'm always trying to convince her to take some time for herself."

Now it was Mizuki's turn. 'Hey! He does not need to know anything of me until I tell him.'

"And Katsuro-san, what do you do with your copious free time?" Seiji kept the same condescending smile as he looked towards the hanyou.

'Gonna kill this one.' There was a tap on the back of Katsuro's hand under the table, and he took a deep breath. Mizuki had been using that signal for years to help him remember control. "I do whatever my father asks of me. What else would an heir do?"

Sesshomaru looked over to his son with eyes that were just a bit incredulous. Katsuro gave a little shrug, hoping his father would not start that particular argument.

"And I assume you find some time to learn something of combat."

"Some time." Katsuro borrowed his sister's icy demeanor. "Perhaps you would like to compare techniques tomorrow?"

"I should have some time to tutor you."

'Bastard.' Mizuki grabbed on tightly to her control, revealing nothing of her rage.

"And perhaps Mizuki-san will also have some time to join us?" Seiji let his eyes trail back to the icy sapphire ones.

"Unlikely."

Katsuro looked over to her, locking gazes with her.

'If he wishes for my support, he will have it.' Mizuki looked back over to the dragon. "Perhaps I will find some time."

"I look forward to it."

----

"I truly do not have much time, shetai." Mizuki walked at her brother's side with some of her work still in hand, crossing over to the field where they would usually train. "Mama has some new scheme that I must assist with."

"I just want you there in case he pulls something dirty. You don't even have to get involved."

"I will watch him. And shetai?"

"Hai?"

"Please hurt him."

Katsuro grinned. "I'll see what I can do."

Seiji was waiting for them, warming up in the middle of the field. The siblings stopped to watch, and Mizuki could not help but admire the controlled movements. And it did not hurt that he had removed his outer kimono and there was only a thin layer of silk blocking her view. 'He may be a bastard, but he is certainly put together well.'

"Ki-chan, quit staring."

"I am not staring."

"Sure, Ki-chan. How about you just go sit over there and I'll deal with him. And remember to blink." Seeing the look on his sister's face, Katsuro took a step back. "Mama said no poisoning."

Mizuki moved to the edge of the field and returned to her work, not even glancing up as Katsuro moved out to meet Seiji. Shou flopped out in the grass next to her and stretched out in the sun.

"Hey, Seiji-san! Are you here to work or just look pretty?"

Seiji stared at the hanyou. 'He did not just say that to me.' "Excuse me?"

"Just wondering if you still wanted to compare techniques today." Katsuro stretched his arms out, grinning like a story book cat from Kagome's time.

"If you are still willing, Katsuro-san."

"I guess I've got some time to tutor you."

'I am going to kill him.' Seiji gaze darkened as he watched the cocky hanyou shake out his arms.

Drawing his sword, Katsuro rocked on the balls of his feet. "Come along then, youngster. I don't have all day."

There was a hiss and a blur of movement as Seiji attacked, looking to knock the annoying male off of his feet and preferably into a tree. But he was not under his blade any longer.

"Oh, come on. You've got to try harder then that!"

Seiji spun, this time connecting with his opponent's blade. The impact rattled the smaller male's grip, but not his smile. Sparks flew as the blades hit again, pushing Katsuro back.

Spinning around, Katsuro threw Seiji off balance in his attempts to hit him. 'The damn hanyou will not hold still!' His blade slid towards Katsuro, close enough to let the hanyou see his own reflection.

"Better . . . " Releasing his sword with one hand, Katsuro punched Seiji in the nose. 'Just for you, Ki-chan.' "But you need to think outside of the rules."

Startled, the dragon fell back a step. 'What the hell?'

"Try it again, but this time, be creative!"

Drawing on his considerable power, Seiji produced a burst of speed that brought him slamming into the hanyou, dropping him to the ground. The killing blow was blocked, but at least the grin was reduced to a smile. Katsuro's attempts to trip him and bring him down did not work, but it did buy some time for the hanyou to find his feet.

The blades locked again, letting Seiji glare into the emerald eyes. Katsuro's response to the snarl was to arch an eyebrow. "Temper, Seiji-san."

"You should respect your betters, hanyou."

"And I will, if you'd be kind enough to introduce me to one." An elbow to Katsuro's throat dropped him again. "Ow, but better!"

There was a flash as Seiji brought up his sword, aiming for his opponent's gut. When pain laced through his shoulder it took a second for him to realize what had happened. In that instant Katsuro sprung to his feet and tackled him, abandoning his own sword and knocking away Seiji's.

Rolling on the ground, the two males struggled for dominance. Claws were dragged down Katsuro's side as Seiji struggled to get a grip on him, but that only made the emerald eyes flash with anger. "Watch it!" The words were joined by a toss that sent the dragon to the ground. 'Oh, so that's what Shippou was looking for. Now I have to go find him and thank him.'

A sharp kick sent Katsuro's feet shooting out from underneath him and let Seiji pin him down. The emerald eyes darkened more as their owner considered whether or not it would be overkill to transform. Instead he brought up a knee sharply, thoroughly distracting the younger male. He took advantage to throw the dragon off of him and make a grab for his throat.

Yanking the dagger from his own shoulder, Seiji brought it to bear on Katsuro. Even as Katsuro was setting his claws alongside the dragon's throat, the dagger was pressed against his.

Panting, they stared at each other.

"Well?"

"Nice! I totally forgot about the dagger in your shoulder. I should've grabbed it myself, but you thought of it first."

Seiji just stared. "And how did it get in the _back_ of my shoulder?"

"Secret weapon."

Seiji and Katsuro eased away from each other, watching for any last minute attempts. "A secret weapon, you say." The ice blue eyes looked over to Mizuki, who was scribbling away at some parchment. She did not look like she had even noticed the fight, but the dragon that seemed to be permanently attached to her was watching with wide eyes.

"You're good, I'll give you that much." There was a loud pop as Katsuro stretched. "I don't usually have that much trouble unless I'm facing father."

"And I will admit to being surprised." Retrieving his sword, Seiji's thoughts ran off with him. 'Surprised? That does not begin to cover it. He was more of a challenge then my own father. To think, I finally find someone that is a challenge, and it is a hanyou. What would that female be like?'

"Should we do it again?"

"Can you convince your 'secret weapon' to stay out of it?"

"Sure. Oi, Ki-chan! Come and get your dagger back."

Mizuki set her work aside so that she could join the males.

Katsuro had the sense to wipe off her dagger before handing it to her. "You can wander back up to the palace, if you want. I don't think we're going to need supervision anymore."

"If you are certain, shetai." Slipping the dagger back into its place, Mizuki turned to leave.

"Are you not training today, Mizuki-san?"

"No." There was no backward glance as she gathered her work and left.

"That's just Ki-chan, Seiji-san. It's all I can do to get her outside sometimes. She seems to think the Western Lands will fall apart if she isn't there to take care of them."

"She takes her duties seriously."

"Too seriously, but don't tell her I said that. She'll just knock me around. Speaking of which, weren't we here to fight?"

"If that is your wish, Katsuro-san."

"Absolutely. This is fun."

'Fun?' Seiji faced off with the hanyou again. 'I believe he is very entertaining, but not sane.'

----

The sun was half hidden by the horizon, and the first fire flies of the season were putting in an appearance. The garden was still waking up from winter, but the flowers were coming back with a vengeance. Kagome reached up on her tip toes, stretching for a honeysuckle blossom that was just out of reach. 'If I was just two inches taller. That's not much to ask for, is it?'

A pale hand reached over her and plucked the flower, handing it to her.

"Arigato, jo-chan." Adding the flower to the others she had chosen, Kagome turned around to face her mate. "What are you doing out here?"

"Looking for you." Sesshomaru slid his eyes over the collection of flowers in Kagome's basket.

"It's been a long winter without fresh flowers, and I'm going to fill my study and our room with them."

"It will make for a pleasant change after a long winter."

"I can only imagine what it's like at the end of winter with a nose like yours. How can you stand it?"

"Distraction."

"I'll say one thing, it's a definite perk to being mated to an inu-youkai. With your sense of smell everything is kept spotless. But Koga stayed in a dirty cave. Maybe his nose didn't work quite right."

Sesshomaru glanced down at her. "The wolf prince? A wolf would not have the sense to move away from such a stench."

"Wow, and you haven't even met him. Must be a dog thing." Kagome strolled through the garden, looking for other blossoms to bring inside. "So?"

"So what?" 'I hate this game.'

"So, what do you think of Seiji?"

"He is a strong taiyoukai, and heir to the East."

"You are so dense. You know that, right?"

The taiyoukai bent down and lifted the flowers that had fallen out of Kagome's basket from her wild gestures.

"Arigato, Sesshomaru. Okay, I'll be specific. Do you think he's a good match for Mizuki?"

"Mizuki does not like him."

"All ready? She's hardly seen him! How can you be so sure?"

"She is ignoring him as much as possible. Also, she and Katsuro have been even more inseparable then usual."

"Well, that might make this whole thing really easy. If she hates him, it just won't happen." Another flower was added to the basket. "But I don't know how serious I would take that. I hated you at first, and most of my friends tried to kill me at first sight. Who knows what could happen."

"Katsuro seems to like him."

"Katsuro likes everybody. Well, yeah, it surprised me, too. And did you know Katsuro has a crush on Cho?"

"I was not aware. It would be acceptable."

"The way you talk, it's a wonder I'm not beating off females with a stick."

Sesshomaru caught Kagome around the waist and pulled her back so that she was resting against him. "Do you wish to have other females pursuing me?"

"No, because then I'd have to deal with their families when I purify them out of existence. They have to find their own arrogant bastards. This one is taken."

"And you complain about the way that I speak about relationships."

"But I mean it in the sweetest, most loving way possible. You damn arrogant bastard."

There was a low growl, and Kagome squirmed away with a squeak to take off across the gardens. "You be nice to me!"

"This Sesshomaru is not nice."

"Eep!" Kagome slammed right into the youkai that had materialized in front of her. Strong arms caught her just before she hit the ground and saved her basket. "You cheated!"

"How?"

"You're faster then me!"

"Hai." Using his speed to his advantage, Sesshomaru stole a kiss from the little miko. "We have company."

"Can't you tell them to go away?"

"I can hear you, Mama." Mizuki continued to stroll down the path.

"Mizuki-chan!" Kagome turned in Sesshomaru's arms, resting against his chest when he did not release her. "What are you doing out here?"

"Shou is not acting as his usual self, so I am going to go for a ride before full dark sets in."

"Good job, Shou. You make sure she gets out of that office sometimes."

Shou stretched out across Mizuki's shoulders, yawning broadly.

The taiyoukai crossed his arms. "Tomorrow I expect you to not enter your office at all."

"Father? What do you mean?" Mizuki stopped in the middle of petting Shou to stare at Sesshomaru.

"You will find something to do away from that desk. Understood?"

"Hai, father. I am certain I can rearrange my appointments and avoid Seiji-san."

"Mizuki! He's here just to get to know you. How's he going to do that with you hiding by the barracks?" Kagome set her hands on her hips, basket swinging from her wrist.

"After you have completed your inspection I will arrange for a meeting between us to see if we are compatible."

"You really don't like him, do you?"

"He is arrogant, condescending, and has a problem with hanyou. No, I do not like him."

"Your brother may soften him up."

"You cannot soften a chunk of granite." Mizuki gave Shou a final prod and convinced the dragon to get up. "We must go before the sun has fully set."

"Fine, fine, we'll talk about this later." Kagome waved her daughter and the dragon off, watching them as they disappeared over the trees. "Yeah, this is going really well."

"Now you know her feelings on the matter."

"Yeah. I can't send him back after only two days, even Akira would be upset. If we can keep them from killing each other for a couple of weeks, everything will be fine."

"Wishful thinking, miko."

"You could be a bit more supportive, you know."

"This Sesshomaru is not supportive."


	73. Defeat

A/N: Well, I'm tired, so no energy to be clever. Snuggles to all of my reviewers, and I'll be more chatty on my next post. Enjoy, and I don't own nothin'. Wait, that means I do own somethin'. Damn double negatives. I don't own somethin'. I think. Damn knocks to the head.

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"Shippou-san?"

The kitsune looked up at the soft, topaz colored eyes and felt his pulse jump. "Hai, Cho-san?"

"Are you well?"

'I suppose I do look a little weird.' Shippou sat up. He had been laying the middle of the field, mumbling at the passing clouds. Cursing, mostly. "I'm okay, Cho-san."

"If you insist. Where is Katsuro-san? It is unusual to see one and not the other."

"If you're looking for him, you're going to have to try somewhere else. He's not anywhere near me." There was some mumbling that sounded suspiciously like 'big fat liar'.

"So it is true. You two did have a fight."

To Shippou's shock, Cho knelt down beside him.

"Yeah, we did. And right in front of Mizuki and Seiji, too."

"Will you two make up? You are so very close, it seems odd for you to be fighting with him." Cho smoothed the silk of her kimono, biting off the last of her comments. 'It is almost as though they share one brain between the two of them.'

"I don't know. Why do you care, anyways?"

"I do not like to see anyone look as down as you do, Shippou-san. Even when they have been driving me to distraction for weeks."

Shippou blushed. "If you want me to leave you alone . . ."

"Sometimes, Shippou-san."

"But other times?"

"I do not hate you, if that is what you are asking. But please let me have some peace and quiet. My home is not like this, and I am not used to it." Cho softened her already gentle rebuke with a smile. "Is that fair?"

"Of course, Cho-san. It is pretty crazy here, isn't it?"

"Absolute pandemonium. I believe that most of it is from Sesshomaru-sama's Lady. Where did he ever find a female like her?"

Shippou sat up straighter, smiling. "Have you ever heard of the miko that defended the Shikon no Tama and helped to defeat Naraku?"

"Do not tell me that she is the same miko."

"You've never heard Kagome-chan's story? I know it. I was there for most of it."

"Really?" Cho leaned in a bit, delighted. "Please tell me, Shippou-san. I have been so very curious about her."

And the kitsune wove a tale that was too unbelievable to be false. He did make a minor edit, placing Kagome from a distant land instead of the future, but other then that he regaled the young lady for most of the morning with their adventures.

----

"Okay, we've written Yuriko and told her to bring Merkamou, so the South is set. I didn't have to call in any favors to have Seiji come out, so I can trade on that for the East. What are we going to do with the North?" Kagome tapped the pen against her lips, gazing at Kumo and Mizuki. "Sesshomaru isn't going to help with this part, so I have to figure out how to get them out here."

"I used my assistance with that rebellion to bring Cho here." Mizuki doodled on the edge of a page, staring at the wall. "There are no official ties with the north."

"If we can convince Mayu, then she can handle Hideaki. The trick is convincing Mayu."

"Competition may be enough." Kumo tapped the end of her own pen on her desk. "If the others are showing up, especially Isamu-sama, then they will wish to be there."

"You think so?" Kagome looked hopeful.

"Of course. Do you think Hideaki-sama would like everyone to get together to discuss the future without him?"

"Good point. Okay, then we can send out the invitations. For when?"

Mizuki stopped doodling and looked over her page. "I am more concerned with where."

"They could come here."

"Absolutely not. I am not having all of the taiyoukai lords here. It is too much of a security risk." Mizuki's ears twitched. "We need a neutral location."

"Neutral? Okay, we can do that. I think. Somewhere in the middle, to make it fair for everyone. Somewhere that isn't really a stronghold for any of the taiyoukai. I've got it!"

'I will regret this.' Mizuki braced herself. "And where is that, Mama?"

"The youkai exterminator village!"

Mizuki's jaw actually dropped and hung for a few seconds before she recovered. "Mama, do I need to get the healer?"

"No, no, listen. It's completely neutral . . . "

"Because they will want to kill everyone equally."

"Stop that! We're talking about your Aunt Sango's descendants, and I've kept in contact with them. They are not after the taiyoukai. Especially if the taiyoukai are getting together to plan out disappearing. They may even want to help. They're pretty close to the center, and a bit closer to us. Added bonus."

"You are serious."

"You are insane." Kumo stared at her lady. "The actual villagers aside, what sensible taiyoukai would willingly walk into a village of exterminators?"

"Sesshomaru would. And Merkamou is going to be fine, since he did take one as a mate."

"Does this strike anyone else as an odd situation?" Kumo looked over to Mizuki, who nodded in reply.

"I'm going to ask Nami if the village will let us meet there. She's Sango's great-great-great . . . how many greats are we on now, Kumo?"

"I have no idea, Kagome-sama."

"Doesn't matter. She's a direct descendant of Sango's, and married to the headsman. We write a lot, and she even took on Yuriko for a year of training."

"So we shall convince the Lords of Japan to all come together in one location, and that location will be a youkai exterminator village." Still trying to assemble this bizarre situation, Mizuki blinked at her mother. "And here I thought it would be a challenge."

"And I know where you got that sense of sarcasm. It will work, I'm sure of it. So, how shall we split this up? I'll get everyone there and deal with the meetings."

Kumo pulled over a fresh piece of paper. "I will deal with arrangements once the location is selected."

"That leaves me with security and assuring that the guests do not kill each other." Mizuki scratched some notes. "I will recruit shetai. And the timing, Mama?"

"Do you think we could get this together in a month?"

"Absolutely not." Mizuki's ears twitched again. "Communication alone would take one month."

"Two months then."

Several pens tapped as the three ladies looked at each other. Kumo closed her eyes, her incredible memory running through the next two months. "It will be tight, but doable."

"All right then. Two months, youkai exterminators' village, one big taiyoukai party!"

----

"Hey there, Shippou."

The kitsune's back went rigid. "Hello, liar."

"You really aren't going to let this go, are you?" Katsuro dropped next to Shippou.

"Why should I?"

"Because I came here to thank you."

"Huh?" Tail twitching with confusion, Shippou finally looked at his friend. "For what?"

"I was working with Seiji, and I was able to toss him right over my shoulder with a move you taught me. So, arigato."

"You got it?"

"Just in the nick of time."

"I bet you shocked the hell out of that jerk of a dragon."

"You should have seen the look on his face when he went flying." Katsuro twisted his face into a look of shock. "Boom! Right into the ground."

"Yes! Did Mizuki see it?"

"She was right there, and she had already hit him in the shoulder with her dagger."

"Now I really wish I had been there." Realizing what he was saying, Shippou snapped his gaze away. "If you weren't a liar, I mean."

"For the love of . . . " Katsuro shook his friend. "I'm not a liar! I read poetry! Do you get it yet, or do I need to shake harder?"

"Stop . . . shaking. . . me!" Eyes spinning, Shippou broke away. "Okay, okay, I get it. You read poetry."

"This isn't about poetry, is it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"If this was about poetry you'd be teasing the daylights out of me. You would have just loved to find out something like that about me. Instead you tried to bite my ear off. This is about Cho, isn't it?"

"Cho who?"

"Very funny. You have a huge crush on Cho, and you were jealous that she was talking to me and not you."

"And so what if I do like her? Who's going to look at me when Sesshomaru's heir with his perfect hair is around?"

"Perfect hair? Where the hell did that come from?"

"Kagome-chan, actually."

"I don't even want to know what you were talking to Mama about."

Shippou finally met his friend's eyes again. "So, do you like Cho?"

"She's good looking, sure, but we've been fighting since I was tiny. And I hit myself in the head twice while she was watching. I don't think the very manly skill of being able to quote poetry is going to block that out of her memory."

"That's true. Does that mean I have an advantage?"

"Looks like it to me."

"Yes!"

"Are we done fighting, then?"

"Sure. You have to tell me all about your fight with Seiji."

"It was great. He's not half bad, as long as he's not off on some 'pathetic hanyou' bit."

"No, no. Focus on the parts where he's hitting the ground."

----

'There is only so much I can get done when banned from my own office.' Mizuki paced restlessly. 'What was father thinking?'

The naginata in her hands spun as she thought. The latest group of recruits was now coming along nicely, and everything seemed to be under control. There was nothing she could do about her mother's latest scheme until the location had been finalized. Without access to her pile of paperwork that always seemed to be waiting for her, Mizuki found herself in the unusual position of having time on her hands.

"So you do find time to train."

'Not him. Not now.' Mizuki's eyes easily found the male that was watching her. "Seiji-san."

"I was impressed with your brother. His training almost makes up for his hanyou blood. He could probably be considered the equal of a youkai in combat."

'But not a taiyoukai like you, you mean. Bastard.' The spinning blade was brought to a stop, allowing Mizuki's gaze to be uninterrupted. At her shoulder Shou hissed at the approaching male.

"Peace, little one. I am not threatening your mistress." Seiji stared at the tiny dragon, rather startled when the response was a snap of teeth. "Rebellious."

"Is there something that you need, Seiji-san?"

"I was hoping to watch your practice, actually."

"No."

"And why not? I will remember that you are a hanyou and that I should not expect too much."

"I do not wish for your company."

"Peculiar." The taiyoukai crossed his arms. "I was under the impression that I was here so that we could see if we were compatible. I thought that my family had made quite an offer, to allow a half-breed to be the next Lady, but it was evidently not enough for you."

"My decision will be based on my family's approval of you. I could not care less what your opinion of me is."

"I do not believe you." Seiji stepped in closer, making Mizuki's ears flatten. "I believe you are ashamed to be a hanyou, and that you do not wish to show your weakness. I do promise that I will not retract my offer because of your inabilities as a fighter. That would not be your primary role, after all."

The grip on the naginata tightened, making Mizuki's knuckles stand out as white dots on her pale skin.

"Well, hanyou? What do you have to say for yourself? At least your brother was willing to display his weakness for me, while you will hide."

Mizuki's fist connected with Seiji's jaw, knocking him back.

'You can tell they are related.' There was no time for Seiji to recover, since the naginata was in motion. Unlike her brother, Mizuki did not seem interested in practicing. She seemed to have plenty of deadly intent as she aimed for the male. Shou took off, seeking refuge on the sidelines.

The sword flashed as Seiji drew it, blocking Mizuki's attacks. While she had speed, she did not have her brother's training and the dragon noticed the difference immediately. The grip was not as sure, and she had none of her brother's easy confidence. What she did have was a lot of pent up rage.

The familiar whistling sound filled Mizuki's ears, blocking out the rest of the world. She was not angry, she was pissed, and she had no intention of listening to the dragon's voice any longer. The pale hands slid up the shaft, allowing her to attack with both ends. Moving in closer, she forced the dragon back at the edge of her blade. "You will be silent."

"Give it up, hanyou." A hard blow rattled the naginata loose, sending it flipping away to bury the blade in the ground.

Mizuki pulled her dagger but held onto it. It was the only weapon she had left, and she would not throw it away. She waited as the dragon circled her, his expression showing how much he was enjoying the heated glare that had replaced her usual icy demeanor.

She could see the next attack coming, but it was too fast for her to come up with a plan. A hard blow sent her to the ground, hitting her head hard enough to see dots of white across her vision. She could also see Seiji, reaching for her shoulder. The dagger was slammed into his arm and dragged down the length, causing even more damage when he yanked his hand back.

One foot pinned Mizuki's armed hand down while Seiji grabbed her hair. Low growls made her vibrate in his grip, as she grabbed his arm with her free hand and sunk her claws in. Smoke rose as the punctures grew, spreading across his arm. She dragged him in close, seeing her own reflection in his eyes as they widened in pain. "Bastard."

"Bitch!" Seiji yanked his arm away, staring at the deep holes.

While he was distracted Mizuki got back to her feet, her eyes on the naginata that was several lengths away. She was fast, but she knew Seiji was faster. One step at a time, she eased away from the distracted male, trying to keep her eyes off of her weapon. The little dragon was zig zagging through the air, trying to figure out what he should do. "Stay there, Shou."

The only warning was a whisper of silk, then Seiji was behind her, knocking her to the ground again. He kept both of her hands under control, and pinned her legs down with his own. Mizuki's eyes were tinted with red as she felt the body crushing her down, and knew that this time she was stuck.

"This is much more the position that you will usually be in, my intended." Seiji hissed in her ear, enjoying the fact that the proud, distant female was now trapped. "I think I will look forward to this relationship."

Mizuki's fangs sunk into his shoulder, sending blood running over both of them. His answering blow to her head left her dazed, not even remembering when he left.

----

The smell of blood alerted Sesshomaru before he heard movement outside of his door. "Mizuki."

The door slid open to reveal his daughter, but in a state he had never seen. There was blood across her clothes, and she was holding one arm very carefully. When her eyes flickered up to his, he could see a nasty bruise across one cheek.

"Well?"

"A fight with Seiji-san." Mizuki knelt across from her father, keeping her eyes on the floor.

"And you were defeated."

"Hai."

"Why?"

"I lost control." The silver bangs fell forward to hide Mizuki's face completely from her father. "I acted in a rage."

"And?"

"He is more skilled."

Sesshomaru pushed the silver hair back to examine the bruise. "You have not been practicing."

"There is no time."

"You will make time."

"Hai, father." Shame threatened to swallow Mizuki whole. "Gomen nasai, father."

"Why?"

"For losing."

"I will assist you."

The blue eyes finally met the amber ones. "Nani?"

"I will assist you, as I do Katsuro."

"Arigato, father."

"A healer?"

"No. I will mend." Mizuki stood and bowed.

"Tomorrow. You will find time."

"Hai, father. Arigato."

Watching his daughter walk out, Sesshomaru suppressed the urge to destroy his desk. 'I would very much like to slaughter that male, but Mizuki was the one to lose control. I cannot kill him for defending himself, even if I believe he was simply looking for an excuse to dominate her. Mizuki has pushed away any training for much too long. The Western Lands will survive without her care while she learns the skills that she will need in the East.'

Sesshomaru could feel Kagome moving towards him. 'She has picked up on my emotional state. Annoying. She will not take this news well. Perhaps it will be an excellent lesson for Seiji if I let Kagome know what has happened. I am quite certain that the bruise on my daughter's cheek was not a necessary part of defending himself, and I am also certain that Kagome will not kill him. Just educate him.'

"What's up, Sesshomaru?" Kagome's eyes scanned the room, looking for the cause of his stress.

"Seiji and Mizuki had an altercation."

"Altercation? You mean a fight? I'm going to kill him for starting a fight with Mizuki!"

"Actually, I believe Mizuki swung first."

"Nani?" Kagome sat right next to Sesshomaru. "Mizuki started it?"

"She says that she lost control."

"So he did something to make her lose control. Oh, he's going to pay."

"It was a battle for dominance, I believe."

"Who won?"

"Not Mizuki."

"Oh." Kagome set her head on his shoulder. "Should we just throw him out and write off this whole idea?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I have never heard of Mizuki losing control as she did."

"And that's usually a bad thing in a relationship."

"Unless she is half inu-youkai."

"I've been dealing with this whole fighting for dominance thing for a long time now, and I still don't understand the youkai way of doing things." Running her fingers through the soft hair, Kagome sighed to herself. "You'll tell me when you know more, right?"

"Hai."

----

Carefully avoiding her mother, brother, and that damn dragon, Mizuki changed out of her blood spattered clothing and made her way to the baths. Soaking in hot water, she was able to deal with what had happened.

'I should have never swung at him. What is it about him that sets me into a rage? Words should never have that much effect. I have heard so much worse. Is it because I may end up spending the rest of my days with him? Why does it bother me so much that he looks down on me? Why do I wish to defeat him to the point that all rational thought disappears?'

'Without rational thought I am lost. I am not the fighter that my brother is, I am not a taiyoukai like father, and I am not a miko like mother. I do not even have the passion of Rin-neechan. Seiji is a talented fighter, and stronger then I am. I suddenly sympathize with shetai. Now I know what he was talking about when he had to face father, and in this battle he cannot help me. I must win this one on my own.'

'At least he seems considerably more willing then any had predicted. Tomorrow father will start training me along with Katsuro, and he will not take no for an answer. I do not know how I will keep up with my regular work and deal with being in full training, but I do not have a choice anymore.'

_I believe you are ashamed to be a hanyou._

'And he is correct.' Her arms were draped across her knees, and now she rested her forehead on them. 'I am ashamed. I did not want him to see that he could defeat me. As long as no one challenges me they cannot see that I am nothing more then a half breed. Is there even a point to my father's assistance?'

Images of Seiji lying on the ground filtered into her mind. 'If there is even a chance of defeating him, I will try. Nothing would make me happier then seeing that dragon defeated.'


	74. To Start Again

A/N: Ha! I can still surprise you guys! Yes! GPPR has struck again! You can find a gorgeous drawing of Mizuki at http/ robotech. neocamera. com/ fa-inu 03. html Go forth and drool!

Welcome back AN and Nilee. Missed you guys. Sorry, Nilee, but she just had a major knock to the ego. My characters always have major flaws, but we'll see if we can put her back together. And I don't usually do the good guys/bad guys thing. Except Ryuutaisho, but everyone slips up eventually. I'm saving the huge bastard blade for someone else, Mr. J. Like I'm going to tell, Lelyn. I love Pride and Prejudice, but I never saw that! Nice catch!

Owned.Byme NULL.

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"Try again, Ki-chan."

The usually jovial and teasing voice had been replaced by clipped orders with only the pet name to remind Mizuki that it was still Katsuro speaking. Sweat ran into her eyes and burned while her whole body ached, but she tightened her grip on the sword and prepared to attack again.

'Oh, Ki-chan. Now you will pay for skipping out on practice for the last one hundred and fifty years.' Katsuro was caught between relief and guilt. Relief that she would finally learn how to take care of herself, and guilt for what she would be put through. Father was standing nearby, supervising his daughter's retraining with a cold stare. 'And I can't go easy on her either. I'm sorry, Ki-chan. I really am.'

Katsuro caught the sword that was swung at him, grabbing his sister by the arm and flipping her to the ground. "For a tactician, you make stupid mistakes."

Climbing to her feet again, Mizuki kept the pain out of her face. It hurt to be thrown to the ground like that, and it was bothering her more then she would show to have Katsuro acting like this. Usually her brother was her refuge, but now he was her tormentor.

"Mizuki."

"Hai, father." Moving with a stiffness that gave away her pain, Mizuki moved over to her father's side.

"Why would you take a direct approach?"

The sapphire eyes blinked, staring at Sesshomaru. "Foolish."

"Hai."

"Distraction? A feint?"

"Perhaps."

"Arigato, father."

Katsuro was still waiting for her, his stance misleading. He looked as though he was completely off guard, but Mizuki knew better. She would try to keep Sesshomaru's advice in mind as she tried again. 'I am a tactician. I may not be as fast or strong, but I know I have spent more time on strategy. How to trick the trickster?'

Instead of stopping and setting up again, Mizuki strolled right up to Katsuro, her blade in the same casual pose he was using. "Oi, shetai."

"Yeah, Ki-chan?"

Mizuki clobbered him, laying him out in the grass with a punch to the temple.

"Not what I had in mind." Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow at his downed son. "But effective."

"Oh, what the hell." Katsuro stared at the passing clouds.

"You are the fool who let me get close enough." Mizuki offered a hand to pull her brother back up.

"True." A quick twist put Mizuki's proffered arm behind her back. "But you didn't finish me off, either."

"Damn." Struggling, the sister looked for a way out. She went limp suddenly, startling her brother into dropping her.

The sword was snapped up, blocked just in time by Katsuro. The black haired hanyou watched with cautious eyes as Mizuki rose from the crouch she had landed in, her sword at guard. 'I don't much care for the look in her eyes. I think she's starting to get into this. Shit.'

"Mizuki, finish your opponent. Do not play games."

"Gee, thanks father. Just encourage her to kill me!" Katsuro danced away from his sister's attack, annoyed to see that she had fallen into the old pattern now that she was concentrating on killing him.

"Mizuki. Not direct."

"Hai, father." Mizuki's eyes unfocused while she continued to fight, running scenarios through her mind while her body dealt with Katsuro.

Katsuro dove in, trying to kill her before she could form a plan. He slammed into the sword, sending it to the ground. Mizuki didn't seem to notice, instead kicking him in the side and sinking her claws into his arm. He let go of his sword with one hand, trying to get his arm free before he was poisoned.

Mizuki grabbed the hilt of his sword and twisted, breaking his grip and stealing his weapon. Close enough to count Katsuro's eyelashes, she set the tip of the sword against his stomach while still holding his arm. "Kill, shetai."

"Hai. Good job, Ki-chan, but can you take your claws out of my arm now?"

"Gomen, shetai."

The siblings split up, Mizuki handing the sword back to her brother and retrieving her own. 'I finally won a bout. Thank goodness.'

"Better, Mizuki. We will work again tomorrow." Sesshomaru walked away, leaving his offspring to their own devices.

"How are you holding up, Ki-chan?"

"I will be much improved after a visit to the bath house." Slipping her sword into its sheath, she went to retrieve her naginata and Shou. "Come along, sleepy one. If I hurry we can still go out this evening."

Rumbling with pleasure, Shou dropped onto Mizuki's head.

"Shou, come down from there."

The little claws tightened in her hair.

"You are lucky that I am too sore to reach the top of my head just now."

The hissing sound that came from her partner sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"I mean outside of your sore body." Katsuro took her naginata away, carrying it back to the palace for her. "I know we've been kind of rough on you, and Seiji was such a bastard . . . "

"You are doing what you must. Do not be concerned."

"Ki-chan, stop it."

"Very well. No, I am not pleased to have my little brother beating on me, and then father taking a turn when you need a break. I am not pleased to have time taken away from my duties, or having the Captains taking over some of the things that I cannot get to."

"The Western Lands will survive without your direct supervision, Ki-chan."

Mizuki gave him a dark look. "I am not pleased that the dragon was able to beat me so soundly. I will do whatever is necessary to remedy that."

"What happened with that, anyways? What did he say? Father said that you swung first."

"I did. I lost control and attacked him." The silver hair hid her shamed face. "I do not know why. It was nothing new, or even unique, but I simply lost control."

"I've never heard you say that."

"Because it has never happened. I do not know why he can cause that reaction in me."

"Are you still thinking about being his mate, Ki-chan?"

"I do not know that, either. I must learn control around him either way, and if I can regain my control then there is no reason not to."

"Other then the little thing where you hate his guts."

"There are many mates that hate each other."

"But is that what you want?"

Mizuki looked over to her brother. "Would it shock you to hear that I do not care?"

"Can you promise to tell me the truth to one question?"

The older hanyou stopped walking, staring at her brother. "Hai."

"Is that really how you feel? I mean, do you really not feel things like I do?"

"I feel, Katsuro." There was a long silence as Mizuki tried to put words together. "I suspect that I feel things much as you do, but I do not let these feelings rule me. I will not make a decision like this based on how I feel about Seiji."

"But you do feel like I do. And how do you feel about it?"

"The truth, shetai? The idea of laying him out in the grass is most appealing. I also feel that I could build an acceptable situation."

"Acceptable situation? Don't you feel anything like regret that you're never going to fall in love?"

"Some." The answer was a soft whisper, almost carried away by the breeze. "But not enough. I do not like to lose control, and that is what you are describing."

"As long as you're sure, Ki-chan. I don't like having to worry about you."

"You are worrying about me?"

"Of course. Even if I am your little brother, I don't really want you to be miserable for the rest of your life. Not completely."

"Your thoughtfulness is overwhelming." Mizuki continued to walk slowly towards the palace. "My only feelings now are focused on reaching the bath house as quickly as possible."

"Well, that's where I'm going, and I know I'll get there faster then you."

There was a cold glare and a cracking of knuckles.

"But of course, I would never consider trying to get in ahead of my big sister. You go right ahead."

"Excellent decision, shetai."

----

The green eyes followed the two hanyous as they walked up to the palace. Tail twitching, Shippou fought down his annoyance as he noticed that Mizuki was still moving in a stiff way. 'Damn it all, what was that bastard thinking?'

The news that Seiji had beat up on Mizuki had startled Shippou, but not nearly as much as his reaction to the news. He would have expected annoyance or some sympathy, but not this anger and concern. 'Why am I so wound up about Mizuki getting hurt? It's not like it was Cho or anything.'

Strange thoughts bumped into each other. 'Do I see Mizuki the same way I see Cho? I've always fought with her, so what's changed?'

The siblings had stopped and were talking about something, Mizuki's attention completely fixed on her brother. Her hair was tightly bound as always, and her bearing was elegant and proud even when exhausted. 'I've never really looked at her. I mean, she was always just Katsuro's sister. But she is really pretty. Especially when she's not killing anyone.'

'Oh yeah, before I forget that little problem, she's a ruthless killer! And Katsuro is helping to make her a better killer! Not exactly someone I feel like courting, thank you very much. I like being alive.' But the eyes tracked back to the hanyou as she turned and started to walk up to the palace again. 'But Katsuro said that she's not really like that. I wonder if he's right.'

----

"From the looks of things, I would say that you had a productive practice."

"And why would you say that, Cho?"

"You can barely move, so you must have done something productive." Ignoring the growled response, Cho slipped into the water next to Mizuki. "So, tell me how it went then."

"My father and brother took turns beating on me in the name of training."

"I should come out and watch tomorrow. That just sounds like a good time had by all."

Tired eyes rolled over to glare at Cho. "If you come I will make you participate."

"Then I think I will need to skip it. I am not part of this insane family, so I am not required to learn how to beat on things. And what would happen if my hands were damaged?"

"Somehow I think you would survive."

"I do not think you want me to focus on my singing. Your hearing is far too sensitive to be subjected to that." Cho smiled at her friend. "Really, did it go well?"

"It went well. But it also demonstrated how far behind my brother I am. Discouraging."

"You'll catch up, Mizuki. Katsuro may have a head start and plenty of talent, but I have not seen anything that you cannot do once you've put your mind to it."

The faith of her friend made Mizuki breathe easier. "Arigato, Cho."

"That's what I am here for."

"I thought you were here to avoid being sent off with a male of your father's choosing."

"That as well." Cho's smile broadened . "And from the latest note from mother it is working quite well. I am not on the forefront of father's mind, and any attempts at finding a new mate have fallen to the bottom of his list."

"Cho?"

"Hai?"

"Do you regret that you will never fall in love?"

"Who are you, and what have you done with Mizuki?"

The hanyou locked her gaze on the ceiling, silently begging divinity for patience. "It was a question that Katsuro asked me, and he seemed rather confused by my answer."

"So you are asking me to see what the normal female response would be."

"Something of that nature."

"Of course I do. I read about it so much, and it is supposed to be the most amazing feeling that can be experienced. If nothing else I am curious."

"I believe that is the response Katsuro was looking for."

"Your brother is a hopeless romantic." Giggling, Cho met her friend's gaze. "But I should not be surprised, since he has the same taste in poetry as I do. Except for some of the haikus, I just cannot appreciate them the way I do the epics. And how did you answer your brother's question?"

"I feel some regret, but not enough to stop me."

"Mizuki, I do not think love is for females like us. We have duty instead of romance."

"Hai. Although, if you are not careful, you will have romance."

"Nani?"

"Are you blind, my friend?"

Cho splashed Mizuki with water, making the fluffy white ears flatten defensively. "What are you babbling about?"

"You have not noticed that you have two males hunting you?"

"What, Katsuro and Shippou? They do need to find things to do."

"If I have noticed, it must be very obvious."

"You're not joking, are you?" The leopard stopped and stared. "You think they are both looking to court me?"

"You are blind."

"What a minute." Cho stared into space, replaying the last couple of weeks in her head. "Oh, Kami help me. They are after me!"

"Good morning, Cho. I hope you enjoyed your sleep." Mizuki dodged back as Cho slapped the water again.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You are asking me?"

"Mizuki! This is an emergency!"

"You could continue to ignore their existence. It has been effective up until now."

"But. . . " The voice trailed away, Cho settling back into the water.

"What is it, Cho?"

"What if I do not want to?"

"Nani? You do not want to? Both or just one?"

"Just one."

The sapphire eyes narrowed. "Which one?"

"I'm not telling you!"

"Cho."

"Absolutely not, and you know that does not work on me."

"Very well. Keep your secret. I will enjoy observing this."

"I am certain you will."

----

"Seiji!"

The dragon turned and found the little miko glaring at him, an eerie glow surrounding her and the staff she was carrying. His father's parting words came to him like an echo.

_Whatever you do, don't piss off the miko._

'Evidently I have failed in that mission.' Seiji casually bowed. "Good afternoon, Kagome-sama."

"And what the hell did you do to my daughter?"

'Ah, so that is what she is upset about.' The bland expression remained as Seiji shrugged. "She struck me first."

"And what, exactly, did you say to my daughter to cause that?" Kagome was coming closer, her eyes narrowing.

"I do not remember the details, but I was looking to watch her practice."

"And the hanyou comments?"

"Well, I did mention that I would not hold that against her, and that I would not retract my offer due to her inabilities as a fighter."

"So you insulted my daughter until you were able to goad her into a fight." The miko snapped her staff into a guard position. "Baka. Your father should have warned you about me."

"My lady, with all due respect, I do not think you warrant a warning."

"Really? How about you come and pick on this female, you ass."

"I have no reason to fight with you, Kagome-sama."

"Either you fight, or I'm just going to throw you around like a limp noodle." Swinging the staff at his head, Kagome forced the dragon to dodge.

"I would not risk harming Sesshomaru-sama's mate."

"But his daughter is fair game? What is wrong with your head?"

Annoyance took control. "If you wish to fight so badly, my lady, I will obey your wishes."

"Come and get it, baka."

Seiji moved to knock the ningen down, but found himself stumbling backwards when he hit a wall. Blinking, he almost missed the swing of her staff. The close graze left a burn across his skin, making him backpedal. His speed kept him ahead of her attacks, and the little miko was getting annoyed.

"That's it!" Ducking down, she picked up a stray stick. "Now you've had it!"

'What is she doing now?'

The stick flew at him with pin point accuracy, hitting him in the shoulder when he tried to dodge. He was knocked back several lengths and left lying on the ground, every muscle protesting.

'Now the warnings make sense.' Seiji slowly got to his feet. "The fact remains that your daughter struck me. I defended myself."

"Defended yourself?" Kagome threw one of her barriers up around him, keeping him still so she could yell at him. "I saw the marks on my daughter, and that was not defending yourself. Dominance be damned! Keep your claws off of my daughter or so help me I will purify you out of existence! You have a brother, so I don't think Akira will grieve too much."

"I do not believe you, Kagome-sama."

Growling under her breath, Kagome dropped the barrier and grabbed him by the front of his kimono to pull him down to her height. "Do I look like I am joking to you?"

The burning sensation from having her so close made Seiji freeze. Suddenly he was reminded just who Mizuki's mother was, and that the dangerous side may not have come from Sesshomaru after all. "No, Kagome-sama. I do not believe you are joking."

"Then you will not beat up on my daughter, or I will return the favor. Do we understand each other?"

"Understood, Kagome-sama."

"Good. Whatever dominance thing you have to deal with can be done without leaving her bruised and bloody."

"The blood was actually from me, my lady."

"Really?" Kagome released him. "In that case I'll let you go with just some bruises. Remember what we talked about."

"I will not forget, Kagome-sama."

Seiji watched the small ningen storm off. 'Dominance.' He had not thought about it that way. Was it possible that instincts had kicked in with that defiant female? It was true that he had been rougher then necessary with her, but she had been quite rough in return. That had been a very nasty bite she had left on his shoulder. But that would imply that he saw her as an acceptable female, and not as one that would be forced on him.

'She is intriguing, that much I know. She is cold and calculating until you hit a certain point, and then she is another female completely. I rather like the dangerous side of her, and enjoyed bringing it out. I wonder which side is real?'

It did not look like he would have a chance to find out, since the female was avoiding him. Rumor had it that she was working with her father and brother. 'So perhaps she has decided to spend some of her time training. It will be even more interesting the next time I face her, then. And I find myself looking forward to that. A hanyou. I must be losing my mind.'

"So I take it that I don't have to talk to you."

Seiji turned around to find Katsuro watching him. "About what?"

"My sister. I believe that Mama took care of it for me. Besides, it's about time you found out what my mother really is."

"So you are here to tell me to keep away from Mizuki-san."

"Nah. Mama has warned you, and I'm sure Ki-chan would let me know if she wanted anything done to you. I think you've gotten the point."

"That I have." Seiji ran a hand over his new burn.

"Good." An appraising eye was run over Seiji's injury. "It will heal up in a couple of days, but it's going to itch like crazy in the mean time."

"Delightful."

"If I were you, I would let Ki-chan have some time to cool off before she does something drastic. Just because she couldn't take you in a face-to-face fight doesn't mean she can't hurt you."

"And would you assist her?"

"If she asked me to, probably." Katsuro met the wary gaze. "But you would have to do something really awful for her to ask me for help."

"I will keep that in mind."

"Don't hurt her, and I won't hurt you. And I'm not talking about just hurting her physically."

"You are very protective of her."

"Of course I am. She is so busy taking care of everything else that she doesn't have any time to take care of herself. That's my job, and I take it very seriously. Hurt her and I will hunt you down."

"Understood, Katsuro-san."

"Great! Let's go find some dinner, I'm starving."

----


	75. By the Moonlight

A/N: This one took awhile, hard to write but I really wanted to do it. Plot bunny? Yeah, probably, but sometimes you get a scene in your head and you can't get it out. You'll all survive. Yeah, I don't think Shippou really knows his own name right now. Poor confused little fox. Beautiful females everywhere, and none will give him the time of day. But we all know I'm a sucker for happy endings, so don't feel too bad for him. I love Katsuro too, mostly because Mizuki is so dang hard to write! But I'll admit, I'm counting the sentences until I can bring Merkamou back in. He's still my favorite. Nilee, take care of yourself for goodness sake! Asthma sucks! Okay, okay, I own stuff. Just nothing that makes money, so don't sue. All you'll get are my student loans.

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"And where do you think you're going?"

Mizuki finished her swing onto Shou. "I am going hunting. There has been a youkai causing problems in the area."

"You are supposed to be practicing." Katsuro marched over to the dragon. "Father will be furious."

"Father is busy today, and this youkai needs to be eliminated. More to the point, I need to spend time away from this place."

"I'm going to get in trouble for letting you go, you know."

"Not if I capture you."

"Nani?"

Grabbing Katsuro by the collar, Mizuki hauled him on Shou as the dragon took flight.

"Help! I'm being kidnapped!" The ground disappeared from under Katsuro's feet as he clung to Shou.

"Help me to destroy this youkai and we will return before father has even noticed our disappearance."

"Anything you want, just don't drop me!"

Mizuki smirked as she pulled her brother the rest of the way on.

"So, what are we hunting?"

"I do not have much information. I do know that it is in the woods not far from the palace, and that it is some sort of a cat."

"Not vague at all." Katsuro rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess we can just fly around and see if it comes out for us."

"Reasonable, since I was looking for an opportunity to leave the palace."

"We're going to get grounded for this. I just know it."

----

"You said I couldn't do it. Well, you were wrong."

Sesshomaru looked up to the excited ningen and her patient assistant. "Explain."

Kagome looked downright smug. "I got a location, and it looks like I'll have all of the taiyoukai lords coming. Plus a couple of others."

"And how did you arrange this?"

"Merkamou was easy, I just asked. Akira was actually pretty willing to go, even if she didn't much care for the location. Mayu was tougher, but I think she's bored and didn't want to be left out. She'll get Hideaki out there one way or the other."

"And where is this meeting taking place?"

"The youkai exterminators' village. Nami told me that it would be fine."

'I am fairly certain that she just said the exterminators' village. Perhaps she did not mean to say that.' Sesshomaru listened very carefully. "Nani?"

"The exterminators' village. Nami is married to the headsman."

'No, I did not misunderstand her. She is simply insane.' "You convinced the Lords to meet there?"

"And some others. It seems that they aren't happy with just the Lords and their mates. Hideaki wants to bring a couple of lords, Akira wants Seiji and one advisor, and Merkamou wants Yurkio and a couple of his generals. Not sure why."

"And they are all gathering at the exterminators' village, who know that they are coming."

"Hai." Kagome felt a dull ache spreading across her temples, and she knew where it was coming from. "It's not that odd."

'I do not even have a response to that statement.'

"You said you would go if I could arrange it."

'I did. Baka.' "Hai."

"Then you can plan on seeing everyone in just over a month. It's going to be so nice to see everyone again."

"Hn."

"Maybe you'll get really lucky and one of them will say something objectionable so you can toss them around. Will that make you feel better?"

"Hai."

"Then I'll see what I can do." Kagome gave him a sweet smile before turning on her heel and hurrying out.

'Arigato, koishii.'

----

"Do you hear that?"

Mizuki nodded, her eyes trained on the trees below them. Something large was moving through the branches.

"Did the whole flying around until it showed up plan actually work?" Katsuro leaned past Mizuki to look at the tree tops.

"Perhaps."

"Let's go down and take a closer look. With our luck it's just some tree dweller that has gotten fat."

Shou dipped down, taking them to the tops of the rustling trees.

"See anything, Ki-chan?"

"No, and I will not see anything if it flees due to the large amount of noise you are creating."

Katsuro took the hint and shut up. Shou dropped lower, all eyes searching for the source of noise.

The source launched from the trees, landing on Shou and knocking Katsuro clean off.

"Katsuro!"

Mizuki did not have much time to worry about her brother, as a tiger youkai swiped at her. Twice the size of a horse, he was digging his claws into Shou's flanks as he advanced on the rider.

Suddenly thankful for her lessons with a short sword, Mizuki pulled her weapon and struggled with the youkai. She had to get him off of Shou, who was completely occupied with not crashing into the trees.

Red eyes glared as the tiger forced her back, creeping towards the dragon's neck. If they went any further the youkai would have access to an easy kill, and Mizuki was not about to let that happen. 'Strategy be damned, he is threatening Shou. I simply need to kill this!'

As the claws flashed down again, Mizuki let her new training take over. She swapped her sword to her left hand, blocking the strike while her right hand went to the naginata at her back. The tiger never had a chance to see the second weapon. Instead of the usual wide swing, Mizuki thrust it right into her opponents face. A lucky hit blinded the youkai in one eye and drove him back, while the sword slashed out and slit a leg open.

"Ki-chan!" Katsuro leapt from a tree top, his own sword flashing in the sun. "Duck!"

Without a second though Mizuki dropped to Shou's back, letting Katsuro's swing slash through the youkai's shoulder and sending it tumbling to the ground.

"Are you okay?" "Are you harmed?"

The two siblings blinked at each other, then smiled.

"Shall we finish it?"

"Hell yes! It knocked me off Shou! That hurt!"

Shou snarled and dove through the limbs at a breakneck pace, the usually happy and sleepy expression replaced by predatory drive. There was a trail of blood across the fallen leaves, leaving an obvious path to follow. The track ended at a small cave, with the youkai holed up inside.

"Just great. I don't want to go in after him. Now what?" Katsuro hopped down from Shou and went to take a look. Deep in the dark he could see two red eyes glaring at him.

"Shou-chan, are you all right?" Mizuki ran her fingers over the gouges running along the dragon's side.

Rumbling, Shou walked to the cave and shoved Katsuro out of his way. Glaring at the tiger, he took a deep breath and blasted the inside of the cave with ice shards, shredding the youkai.

"Eww." Katsuro peeked in the cave but quickly turned away. "It's too bad, that would have been a nice pelt."

"Barbarian." Focusing on Shou, Mizuki tried to check him over again. "I think we should walk back."

Shou gave his partner a glare.

"I am only thinking of your welfare."

There was a click of teeth.

"Very well, if you are that certain of your health." Swinging into her usual place, Mizuki reached down a hand to help her brother up. "If we return now it is unlikely that father will notice that we have been gone."

"Like he isn't going to smell tiger's blood on us, or dragon's blood for that matter."

"A prompt return will keep his fury down, in that case."

"Or I could just tell him that his daughter actually has a decent set of instincts when she's pushed."

"Nani?" Mizuki turned her head to watch her brother as Shou set off for the palace.

"I saw you with that tiger, and that was some nice work with both weapons. And I know you didn't stop and think about it, because you didn't have time."

"True."

"It means that all your work is working!" Katsuro gave Mizuki a shake. "You're turning into a fighter!"

"It would seem that way." Staring at the horizon, Mizuki's mind spun on. 'Maybe I do have a chance after all. I am still Sesshomaru's daughter.'

"I actually feel sorry for Seiji-san. A little bit."

"Hn."

----

'I think Katsuro might be wrong. I'm not seeing much other then ruthless killer here.' Shippou picked himself up off of the ground. "Would you mind not smacking me into the ground?"

"I thought that was the point of this exercise." Mizuki stood over the kitsune, her mask firmly in place. Father had not noticed their morning escape, and she had returned to her training with renewed enthusiasm.

"Get him again, Ki-chan!" Katsuro cheered from the sidelines. Father was dealing with official duty stuff, so the practice had a slightly more casual feel. "Get him all the way over your head this time!"

"Help!" Shippou yelped as Mizuki snatched him off the ground again. "I thought you were my friend, Katsuro!"

"I am! That's why I'm right here for you, ready to get the healer."

"Arigato." Flat out in the grass, Shippou stayed very still.

"Ki-chan, we should head in." Katsuro looked at the sun.

"In a moment. I wish to finish this exercise."

"Fine, but don't take too long." Keeping one eye on the sun, Katsuro headed inside. Shou landed on his shoulder, hitching a ride back to the palace and, most importantly, the kitchens.

"What if I don't want to finish this exercise?" Rolling onto his back, Shippou stared up at Mizuki. He had been drafted into teaching Mizuki over the last two weeks, improving her hand to hand skills, and he was one, long bruise. Unlike her difficulties with weapons, she took to this straightforward kind of fighting.

"Up, Shippou."

"Fine, fine, I'm up. Don't get all killer on me."

"I will not cause you permanent harm."

"Well, that makes me feel so much safer." Shaking the grass from his hair, the kitsune crouched down. "Okay, let's try it again."

Mizuki moved to grab his arm, but was blocked and tossed to the ground by the smaller youkai. Her arm was twisted into a pin, holding her down. With a knee in her back, the kitsune was making damn sure she could not get away from him and toss him around again.

"If you can't get it past me, I know you won't be able to get it past Seiji."

"This is not about Seiji."

"You're a lousy liar, Mizuki. This is all about you beating that dragon, and I want to see that just as much as you do."

"Why would you feel anything about this?"

The arm was released, allowing Mizuki to stand and face the kitsune.

"He shouldn't have beat you up like that."

"You are confused. I hit him first."

"But . . . "

"It is none of your concern, Shippou. I should join my brother."

"No, wait. Why can't I be concerned?" Shippou planted himself in front of Mizuki, blocking her path.

"It does not involve you."

"If he beats up on a friend of mine, it concerns me."

"Friend?" Mizuki's eyes stared blankly at the kitsune, leaking some of his confidence away.

"Well, yeah. You're a friend of mine."

"If you insist. I must leave."

"Come on, Mizuki." Again the kitsune moved right in front of her. "Can't we just be friends?"

"We can discuss this later."

"Why later? Katsuro keeps telling me that you're not a ruthless killer . . . "

"Then I must have words with my brother about lying."

"You wouldn't kill me. I know you wouldn't."

"If you do not move. . . " A pale hand grabbed Shippou's throat. "I will be sorely tempted."

"What's so bad about saying you're my friend?"

"Later, kitsune." Pushing Shippou aside, Mizuki trained her eyes on the sun. 'I have cut this too close.'

A clawed hand closed over her arm. "What are you so scared of?"

"Again, it has nothing to do with you. Release me. I need to join Katsuro." Mizuki grabbed the kitsune's wrist. "I will not ask again."

"What is bothering you?"

Mizuki snatched him off the ground, but he broke her grip and landed on his feet.

"I taught you that trick, remember?" Shippou dodged back as Mizuki went for him again. "Does Seiji have you this wound up?"

"I have not even spoken to that dragon since our altercation."

"Hey, I just want you to know that I'm a friend. No reason to kill me."

The hanyou stopped, watching the kitsune. "I understand, Shippou. I do not have an issue with your friendship."

"So you would call us friends?"

"If you wish, but I must join my brother immediately."

"Fine, fine, go see your brother. It must be something pretty important to get you this worked up." Shippou gave her an adorable smile, which did not seem to have much of an effect. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Hai."

The kitsune strolled away, wandering over to find the haori that he had tossed aside while practicing.

'I can't risk going through the palace. I'll cut around the outside.' Running across the grounds, the hanyou made a break for her room. 'This is not the kitsune's business. Why does everyone think they need to become involved in this? I appreciate father and Katsuro's assistance, and even Shippou's at times, but it is my fight. There will be another round, and I intend to win. If I must live with that dragon I will not be a shadow that is only sometimes seen and never heard.'

She was about three quarters of the way through her run when she felt her legs turn to lead.

'No. Not now. I will kill that kitsune.' Leaning against a tree, Mizuki tried to catch her breath. Soft hands with blunt nails pressed against her chest as she wheezed. 'Katsuro is waiting.'

Weaving through the grounds, the now ningen Mizuki moved closer to her window, trying to keep alert with her weakened senses. She pressed her back against the outside wall, peering around the corner to see if anyone was there.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Whipping around, the ningen found Seiji staring at her, a hand resting on his hilt.

'Run run run run.' Mizuki bolted, running back the way she had come and aiming for the cover of the trees. She knew that Seiji could out run her, but why would he want to chase a pathetic ningen?

In amongst the trees she sucked air into her aching lungs. 'Damn ningen body. It is worthless!'

"You did not answer my questions. Who are you, ningen, and what are you doing here?"

Cursing his existence and his timing, Mizuki slowly turned to face Seiji.

"Do I know you, female?"

"Let me go. I am not a threat." As always, the hanyou was disappointed in her control over her ningen voice. It did not sound cold or commanding. It sounded rather pleading.

"Then why were you skulking around Mizuki-san's window?" Tasting the air, Seiji tried to figure out the enigma in front of him. She almost smelled like Mizuki and was dressed like her, but she was a ningen.

"Please, just release me. I am just a ningen."

"Not until you tell me why you were there, and where I know you from. You smell familiar."

Defeat slumped the white clad shoulders. "I am Mizuki."

"You need to put more thought into your lies. You are a ningen."

"But I am still Mizuki. Look closely Seiji-san. Do I not smell like Mizuki?"

"Then explain this."

Dropping to sit on a log, Mizuki kept her eyes on the ground. "This happens to me once a month. I am a ningen for one night."

"That is difficult to believe." There were soft footsteps as Seiji moved over and lifted her chin. The blue eyes glared up at him. "But there is no denying the resemblance."

"What would you like as proof?"

"I suppose you must tell me something that only Mizuki-san would know."

"I am not your intended, and you should not be looking forward to this relationship."

The eyebrows disappeared into Seiji's hair. "Well, that is certainly information only she would know, but delivered in a way that she would never use."

"I am a ningen now, complete with a ningen's lack of control." Tossing her now black hair behind her shoulder, Mizuki pushed his hand away. "And what will you do now?"

"Do?"

"Hai. What will you do with this information? Will you hold it against me silently, or will you tell all about my night of weakness?"

"I have no reason to tell anyone of this."

"So you alone will hold this power over me."

"I would have found out eventually. Were you planning on simply hiding from me one night a month?"

"I am not your mate." Mizuki crossed her arms, glaring. "Quit acting as though this is a completed deal."

"And why are you so strongly set against it?"

"Why would I wish to go to the east and be the despised hanyou, especially since my mate would share the opinion?" Now on her feet, Mizuki forced Seiji to step back. "Why would you wish to have a half breed around you? You will have to sire offspring on me. Do you want that?"

"I wanted a taiyoukai." Seiji watched as pain flashed across her eyes before being hidden again. 'Yes, her control as a ningen is shaky at best.' "But that is not what fate has dealt."

"You can choose to walk away from this, just as you can choose to tell everyone about my night as a ningen."

"I will not tell any about this. You have my word, Mizuki."

The intensity in his voice broke through the roiling emotions that were threatening to drown Mizuki. "Why?"

"Despite everything, you are not my enemy. I will not reveal your one weakness, no matter what type of a relationship we end with."

"Arigato, Seiji-san." Backing away from the dragon, Mizuki tried to bring her emotions back under her control. "I apologize for my outburst."

"Somehow I think that you have had these thoughts all along, but only now have decided to share them. Perhaps I should ask you other questions."

"And why would you do this?"

"Because I would like more of an answer then one syllable and a cold stare."

"Then you will take advantage of my lack of control, and the fact that I cannot get away."

"Hai."

Dropping back to her log, Mizuki set her eyes on the ground. "Bastard."

"And why have you been avoiding me, even more so then before?"

"I have been busy."

"Not that busy."

Even as a ningen Mizuki had an impressive growl. "I did not wish for your company."

"Can we survive with each other?"

"I do not know." Smirking, Mizuki looked up to meet Seiji's eyes. "How sad. The taiyoukai is concerned for his safety with the hanyou."

"And legitimately so. The more I know you the more I believe that I do not want you to be annoyed with me and behind me at the same time. I have known very strong youkai and very intelligent youkai. It is the intelligent ones that concern me. Blind strength is not a concern."

"But is pure intelligence enough to be a threat without the might to back it up?"

"I believe you to be a threat."

"And I believe that you have enough intelligence to make your might into a threat."

Chuckling, Seiji sat down so that he was at Mizuki's height. "And yet you somehow make that into an implied insult."

"A skill that you have mastered."

"My father may be right. Some elements just do not belong together. I believe that we bring out the worst in each other."

"You may be correct." The now slate blue eyes flicked back to the ground.

"We seem to be born to fight each other."

"Hai."

"Shall we report to your parents that we are incompatible after all?"

"Compatibility does not concern me. If we can learn enough control to avoid murder it will be enough. However, we can not report that to mother."

"She must believe that you have affections for me."

"Hai."

"But you will be satisfied if we do not kill each other." Seiji gazed up at the branches above him as night set in. "What do you want out of this, Mizuki-san?"

"Nani?"

"What are your goals?"

"Position and an alliance."

"And that is all? You have no female dreams of undying affection?"

"Have I shown any indication of foolish female behavior?"

"No, but it is best to make sure. I do not need to deal with any surprises."

"In that respect we are well suited. At least it is not a complete mismatch. And your goals?"

"A strong heir."

The hanyou's eyes remained fixed on the ground. "It seems that achieving your goal is more questionable then achieving mine."

"I am less concerned after meeting your mother."

"My mother?"

"Ah, you have not heard." Seiji actually smiled as he remembered. "Your mother had words with me regarding my behavior. She is quite impressive, especially for her small stature. I believe I know where your temper came from."

"Mother attacked you."

"Hai, and yelled at me quite a bit. It was reminiscent of having my own mother yelling at me, but my mother never grabbed me by my kimono in order to pull me down."

Mizuki snickered. "She grabbed you by your kimono?"

"And threatened to purify me out of existence if I laid a claw on you again."

The snickering grew louder. "So my mother defeated you."

"Hai."

"It would have been amusing to watch."

"I have no doubt. Do not worry about your bloodlines. You family may be insane, but they are certainly powerful."

"I am having difficulty in believing your words. You have been quite set against having a hanyou."

"But you are not the average hanyou, are you?"

Staring at Seiji, Mizuki heard the words over and over again in her mind. "And what do you mean, Seiji-san?"

"That was a powerful miko that bested me, and your father is considered the strongest taiyoukai alive. I believe that those bloodlines combined with my own will suffice. So long as we can avoid killing each other long enough to produce the next generation, that is."

"If you are saying this just to say pleasant things . . . "

"Since when have I ever done that? If I truly thought that our offspring would be weaklings I would tell your mother about our murderous tendencies and leave. I have no wish to have an heir that cannot hold his lands. You were not my first, second, or even a considered choice, but this may very well work. Believe me, this is more of a surprise to me then you."

There was a long silence as Mizuki went over his words, and her own words from when she was a pup.

_I have no shame in my bloodlines. My mother defeated Naraku, and my father is the greatest of the taiyoukai._

"My brother will be worried about me."

"We do not want Katsuro-san to fret. I will escort you back, so that you will remain unseen."

"Arigato, Seiji-san."

---


	76. Promise

A/N: Well, it finally happened. My muse went on strike. No warning, no two week notice, just walked off in the middle of a chapter. Grrrr. I've been poking away at this, but nothing. Finally started to get rolling again, and I ended up with this monster chapter. All character development, but for the life of me I can't cut any of it out! So, it's in two parts, but they go together. After this? Violence! Ha ha! My muse doesn't abandon me when I'm wrecking mass destruction. Anyways, hopefully this won't bore the pants off of everyone and I'll be all done setting up. If you're really lucky I'll finish up the third part of this today and post it as well. 30 pages will help to make up for my extended absence. Don't worry about Mizuki getting all nice on us. She wouldn't be any fun for me then! And don't worry about Merk and Yuriko. They are on their way. All right, Mr. J, I suppose I deserved that, but I'm still going to thwap you on the head. thwap

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"Ki-chan! You're alright! Don't ever do that to me again! I told you to come inside, but noooo, not Ki-chan! She had to finish her little fight with Shippou and get stuck outside. How old are you? You know better! Where have you been?"

Mizuki dropped through the window, pulling the screen closed behind her. Shou barreled into her chest, sniffing her over with a concerned expression. Across the room Katsuro was glaring at her with dark brown eyes. If he had his usual fluffy ears, they would have been pinned flat against his head.

"I was detained." Shaking some dirt from her kimono with one hand, Mizuki used the other hand to scratch the unhappy dragon under the chin.

"What happened?"

"Seiji found me."

"You have no luck with him. You know that, right?" Katsuro dropped onto the futon he had dragged into Mizuki's room. "Is he going to tell?"

"He gave me his word that he will not. And I believe him."

"Then what took so long?"

"He interrogated me."

"Nani?"

"He decided to take advantage of my lack of control as a ningen and asked questions that I would not normally have answered." Mizuki dropped onto her own futon, mimicking her brother's exhausted position. Shou settled on the pillow next to her head, still sniffing her over.

"Questions? Like what?"

"Why I have been avoiding him, what I want from this relationship."

"He's braver then I gave him credit for."

"Has father arrived yet?"

"Not yet."

Sesshomaru still made a habit of staying with his offspring on their human night. Kagome was fascinated that they had their human night on the same night, and she wanted to give them a sibling if for nothing else then to see if the third pup would have the same pattern. The third pup had not appeared, so the miko had to guess why they fell on the same night.

"I feel like I could sleep for a week. This is worse then having father just beating up on me." Katsuro rolled over to look at his sister. "Can we just sleep through tomorrow?"

"I doubt that would be allowed, but a very tempting thought. I believe I have it worse then you do, at least in terms of injuries."

"It will feel better after you've trounced Seiji."

"Hai."

Katsuro's foggy hearing made the change in Mizuki's voice hard to pick up, but he took a guess. "What is it, Ki-chan?"

"He does not hate me." Mizuki pulled the tie from her hair, letting it fall down her back.

"Well, yeah. I never thought he actually hated you. Lots of dislike, disappointment, a little threatened, sure, but I never thought hate."

"I believed that he did."

"So you don't want to beat him anymore?"

"Oh, no. I wish to defeat him more then ever."

"Then what's so different?"

"I am not certain. It just seems different. These damn ningen emotions!" Flinging a pillow across the room, the ningen glared into the dark.

"You're always so much fun on these nights." Katsuro retrieved the pillow and threw it back to Mizuki. "What do you want? You can blame it on the whole ningen thing tomorrow."

"Approval."

"What for?"

"I do not know!" The pillow went flying across the room again, upsetting the rack with her weapons on it.

"Knock that off, Ki-chan!" Retrieving the pillow again, Mizuki's brother marched over and whacked his sister on the head with it. "I didn't mean let off some steam by destroying your room."

"I have destroyed nothing."

"You need to get rid of some of this anger on other nights of the month. Really, it's not healthy for you and just dangerous for me. You'll get me all wound up and we'll end up fighting again."

"And what are you unhappy about?"

"Shippou and Cho are getting close. Really close. I've been too busy to spend any time with her, and days go by without even saying a word to her. It's frustrating."

"I will talk to father and free up some time for you. I believe that Cho would enjoy spending some time with you again."

"Are you sure? She seems quite happy with Shippou."

Grabbing her other pillow, Mizuki hit Katsuro. "Just talk to her tomorrow, baka."

"Baka? Who's the one throwing stuff because she wants her future mate's approval?"

"Future mate?" Mizuki wound up and hit her brother harder with the pillow. "Who said anything about future mate? I have agreed to nothing!"

"Then why do you want his approval?" Backing away, an evil grin lit up Katsuro's features as he held up his pillow like a shield. "You have a crush on Seiji, don't you?"

"Die, shetai!" Flinging herself across the room, Mizuki abandoned her pillow and tackled her brother. They both tumbled across the room and into a table.

"Well, it's not the most romantic start, but we are talking about you after all . . . " Katsuro dodged his sister's fist that was aimed for his temple, trying to get free from her. She could be a treacherous opponent, and her dull nails could still leave long cuts on his ningen skin.

Mizuki got a handful of his hair and yanked. "Silence, shetai!"

"Not the hair! Ow!" Katsuro tried to wiggle away, pinching his sister to distract her. It worked and he was able to get his hair away from her. "Where's that famous control, Ki-chan?"

The downed female kicked her brother in the stomach, finally silencing him and dropping him to the ground beside her. "My control may be altered, but my aim is not."

"Stop."

The siblings froze, slowly turning their heads to see their father standing in the doorway. Releasing each other, they stood up and looked at the ground like a pair of young pups that had been caught stealing.

"Every month." Sesshomaru settled against the wall, taking his usual position between the door and window.

"Gomen, father." "Gomen, father."

Slinking to their respective futons, the siblings prepared for sleep. Exhaustion was quickly on them once their fighting had ended. Soon after they had settled in, the only sound Sesshomaru could hear was quiet, even breathing.

'Every month. You would think they would grow out of this behavior eventually.'

----

'That's one thing I love about my sister. She always keeps her word.' Katsuro crouched in a tree, watching Cho in the distance as she collected flowers with Shippou. 'Okay, now what? I need to give her the book back, but I need a conversation to go with it. But about what? Maybe she'll ask me what I thought about it. That could work, or I could ask her about the other stuff she's read. This is awful, I need something else to talk to her about! What else do we have in common?'

Laughter echoed across the gardens as Cho laughed at something Shippou said to her.

'And there's that other little problem. Shippou's my best friend. I don't know what to do about that. He always has some lady he's head over heels with, but I've never given them a second glance. Now we both want the same lady, and I can't tell if he's serious this time.'

The young couple in the gardens was bowing to each other, and Shippou was heading off.

'Probably off to practice with Ki-chan. Well, this is my shot to talk to her, since Ki-chan did arrange for me to have some free time just for this. Now what do I do? Act like I'm surprised to see her? Tell her I'm looking to return her book? Surprise her with a flower and quote poetry? Even in my head I'm gagging. I hate this fluffy stuff! Why can't I just talk to her? Why does my brain turn into sludge around her? Okay, stop panicking. I could just walk up to her and say hi. Or return her book. Or . . . '

"Katsuro-san, could you please join me?"

'That works.'

Katsuro dropped from his perch, his eyes on the smiling lady carrying a basket of flowers.

"I thought I had caught your scent, Katsuro-san. How have you been? I have hardly seen you since you started to help Mizuki."

"It's taken up a lot of my time. I brought your book back." Holding out the little volume, he moved to just within arm's reach.

Delicate fingers took the book and tucked it into the basket. "Arigato, Katsuro-san. I have not finished in the gardens. Would you consider joining me?"

There was a slight hesitation as Katsuro's conscience picked at him. "If you would like, or I could grab Shippou. I don't want him to think that he has to take off in the middle of talking to you to help Ki-chan. I could cover for him."

Cho's bright smile threatened to turn the hanyou's usually quick mind to stone. "You are so sweet, Katsuro-san. However, I wish for your company. If that is acceptable to you, of course."

"Hai. What are you up to out here?"

"Kagome-sama has been working very hard lately, and I know that she loves having fresh flowers around her. I was going to surprise her by bringing in flowers for her study and a few other rooms."

"Ah, then you are in luck, for I am an expert in flowers for Mama! Not only do I know what her favorites are, I know where they're growing and which ones don't drive father up a wall so she can use them in her room."

"Then I am very glad the wind shifted and I was able to track you."

"Track me?"

"I thought I had caught your scent, so I tried to follow it but lost it. When the wind shifted I was able to pick it up again."

Katsuro crossed his arms. "Are you trying to tell me that a taiyoukai was having trouble tracking my scent at that short of a distance?"

Cho crossed her arms in reply. "I do not have much practice."

"Even if you don't like to fight you should be able to track someone. It's convenient if nothing else."

"Very well, then. Teach me."

"Huh?"

"Teach me, Katsuro-san."

"Uh, sure. It's more practice then anything."

The basket of flowers was set aside. "Then we shall practice. What would you like me to do?"

"Well, let's see if I can get a trail for you." Backing away a few feet, he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled.

Like a rocket Shou exploded through the garden, not bothering to slow down as he slammed into Katsuro.

"AH!"

The pair went flying through the air to land in a carefully shaped shrub, flattening it.

"Mama's going to kill us, Shou!" Katsuro tried to shove the wolfhound sized dragon off, but was not having any luck. Shou pinned him down and grumbled happily at the hanyou's struggles. "Get off!"

"Shou, can you help us?"

The soft voice achieved more then any of Katsuro's yelling or threats. Shou landed in front of Cho and waited for instructions.

"Traitor." Pulling pieces of bush out of his hair, Katsuro climbed to his feet. 'Again, not a good impression. I think I'm cursed.'

"Katsuro-san is going to teach me how to track."

"So, can you leave a trail for us, and wait at the end?" Giving up on his hair, Katsuro moved next to Cho.

Shou gave a nod and took off across the grass, leaving his claws on the ground for once. In seconds he had disappeared in the trees.

"You missed some." Cho reached up and started to tug twigs out of the long, black hair. 'And it is every bit as soft as it looks.'

"Uh, arigato. Let's give him a couple of minutes, and then we'll set out after him. Nothing too tricky."

"As you say, Katsuro-san. You are the instructor today."

Cho was still running her fingers through his hair, making his heart race. After a very short moment he decided to set off. "We can just go now. You lead the way."

"And what am I supposed to be doing?"

"You know what Shou smells like, right?"

"Unfortunately, I am quite aware of what Mizuki's form of transportation smells like."

'She could've just said yes.' Katsuro rolled his eyes. "Then find him. He was just here, after all."

"Well, I can smell him."

"Then go where the smell is the strongest."

"I will try." Hesitant, Cho set out. She knew where Shou had been, so she took advantage of this to figure out what her nose was telling her. "This is not as easy as you are making it out to be."

"It will be if you just practice. It's not like we have to teach your nose what to do, you just have to figure out what to do with what your nose is telling you."

"Why thank you for that amazing insight, Buddha-sama."

"No need for the attitude."

Cho sighed as she started to make her way through the woods. "I know. I just get frustrated when it seems so simple but it eludes me. I am fortunate that he is a rather strong smelling target."

"He doesn't stink, he just doesn't smell like anything else around."

"However you wish to phrase it. It makes him slightly easier then tracking you."

"Slightly? Are you saying I stink?"

"Hold still for a second, I've lost him." Cho turned her head from side to side, sniffing quietly. "This way, I think."

Setting off again, Cho tried to keep her kimonos from snagging on branches and twigs. "I do not think I am dressed appropriately for this."

"No kidding. How many kimonos are you wearing?"

"And what kind of a question is that to ask a lady?"

"Huh? Hey, you know what I meant!"

"Hai. But it was so very amusing." Cho shrugged out of her unbound kimono and set it on a tree. "We must remember to retrieve that on the way back. I would rather not have it torn."

"Well, that's one layer down."

"I will not be removing any other layers, Katsuro-san."

"Quit putting words in my mouth." Making a face at Cho's back, Katsuro continued to follow her. 'But it did improve the view.'

"With such graceful manners, it is a wonder that the ladies are not falling all over you." Cho tossed a sly look over her shoulder. "And how are the ladies reacting to your graces, Katsuro-san?"

Katsuro stuttered and blushed. "What are you talking about, Cho-san?"

"Are you truly that clueless, Katsuro-san? Do you make hideous faces behind the backs of all the ladies you meet, or is this simply because you hold a grudge against me still?"

"You saw me?"

"I may not be able to track well, but that does not mean that I do not have functional senses. Baka."

"And now the name calling. Why do you care about how I act with the ladies?"

"I am only looking out for your best interests, Katsuro-san." Ducking under a branch, she glanced back again and giggled at his expression. "Oh, the blushing is adorable. You should keep that."

'I don't know if I want to kiss her or kill her right now. Bah.' Ducking under the low branch, Katsuro continued to make faces behind Cho.

"I think we are getting close. I can smell him quite clearly now."

"I told him to wait at the end, so when you've found him you're done."

"Hai, Buddha-sama." Pushing another branch out of the way revealed the blue dragon, curled up in a ball and snoring. "My wily prey."

"Now that's not surprising." Katsuro gave Shou a poke. "Wake up, sleepy one."

With a mighty yawn Shou climbed back to his feet.

"It would seem that I was successful." Cho looked rather pleased with herself.

"You did just fine. Should we try again?"

"Not while I am dressed like this. I have already snagged this kimono, and I would prefer not to damage it any more. Perhaps you will have time tomorrow? I will discuss my choices in wardrobe with Mizuki."

"Sounds like a plan. Okay, Shou, you're off the hook for the rest of the day. You better go back to Ki-chan before she starts to worry."

Shou gave a nod and took off.

Katsuro gave Cho's snagged kimono a quick glance. "Let's go find your other kimono. You really do need to talk to Ki-chan about some different clothes. How can you even get around like that?"

"I can walk just fine, thank you."

"But what about running?"

"And why would I need to do that? I am never late."

"But what if someone does . . . this!" Katsuro suddenly had one of Cho's hair combs in his own hand with a cocky grin. "Now what are you going to do?"

"Give that back this instant!" Cho marched at Katsuro, who easily moved back. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Proving a point. Try to stop me." Katsuro ran off into the woods.

'Why that bastard! That comb was a gift from father. I do not care what he thinks of me, but I am getting that comb back!" Rucking her kimonos up, Cho took off after him, but she went around the woods that they had been tracking through.

----

"She must be walking the whole way. She really doesn't run, does she?" Katsuro stood in the gardens with Cho's kimono over his arm. "I could be here for awhile if she loses her way."

A force slammed into his back, sending him tumbling to the ground and holding him there.

"My comb, if you please, Katsuro-san."

"How?" Katsuro twisted his head around to find Cho sitting on his back, her hair coming down and her kimono torn.

"The kimono is a small sacrifice in exchange for that comb. It was a gift."

'Oops.' Katsuro wiggled an arm free and held up the comb. "Gomen nasai, Cho-san."

"All is forgiven, Katsuro-san. I believe I got my revenge." Cho jumped clear of the hanyou and started to pin her hair back up. "It is a pity, I was quite fond of this kimono. What will people say when I return with you, disheveled and my clothing torn?"

The blush was back with a vengeance. "It's going to be worse when I tell them the truth, that you knocked me across the gardens. Ki-chan will never let me live this one down."

"As long as that is the story you wish to stick to." The blue eyes peeped at him from under long eyelashes. "They may not believe you."

"Are you looking to black mail me again?"

"No, just stating that they may question your story." Cho moved a step closer, enjoying the way Katsuro's eyes widened. "What will they say about this?"

"Uh, I can make sure they don't say anything bad about you. I mean, we weren't doing anything wrong."

Cho took another two steps, bringing her close to Katsuro. "So honorable." Smiling as she heard Katsuro's pulse jump at her low voice, Cho reached out and took her kimono from his arm. Her fingers brushed over his arm, an intentional mistake. "Do not be concerned. This will keep our reputations in tact."

'Can't . . . breathe!' Katsuro tried to force his lungs to work as Cho held eye contact and brushed her hand against his arm again.

"Arigato for my kimono, Katsuro-san. Shall we retrieve my flowers?" Slipping her kimono on, she led the way back.

'Air . . . would be . . . good.'

----


	77. Youkai Romance

A/N: And part two.

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Kagome dragged at Sesshomaru's arm. "Come on! I want to go outside for some fresh air, and I want you to come with me! They can all wait for just a bit longer. I thought you were in charge?"

One eyebrow popped up. "You thought?"

"If you're the Lord of the Western Lands, then just give them the death stare and walk out." Kagome stopped pulling and put her hands on her hips. "Unless, of course, you just don't want to come out with me."

'This does not show promise.' Sesshomaru watched with resignation as Kagome's eyes got big and watery.

"You don't want to spend time with me, do you?"

'Do the other lords have this much difficulty?' Giving in the inevitable, Sesshomaru stood and walked out the door.

"Yes!" Kagome did a little dance as she followed the swaying white hair out.

"Only for a short time. I have things that require my attention."

"I know, and I really appreciate it. We just get so tied up sometimes I swear we only see each other in bed."

"And are you complaining about this?"

A faint blush dusted Kagome's features, even after two hundred years. "You may not need sleep, but I do sometimes. That's my only complaint."

"Ningens."

"Are you looking for a fight, youkai?"

"It may prove to be excellent stress relief."

Kagome grinned. "I guess we could swing by my study and pick up my staff."

"Hai."

"Just remember later when you're flat out on the ground, it was your idea."

"And you will remember that you were the one that was looking for a fight when you are pinned to the ground."

"You're going to be eating dirt, youkai."

"Your ancestors will mourn when they see what I have done to you."

"Big talk, youkai. Think you can back it up?"

"Hai."

Kagome slipped the screen open and jumped through her window. In seconds she was back with her trusty staff. "We'll see about that. I'm not scared of the big, bad Sesshomaru."

"Such foolish bravado."

"That's going to earn you an extra smack."

"Only if you can land it, miko."

"Uh, not to change the subject or anything, but is that Katsuro and Cho?"

"Hai."

"And does Cho look like she's been in a fight of some sort?"

"Hai." Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed as he watched his son.

"Whatever you two are thinking, it's not that!" Katsuro waved his hands franticly.

"I was right." Cho smirked at Katsuro. "Good luck with your explanations."

"And it better be a good one, youngster." The little miko had started to glow.

"She attacked me!"

"Okay, that's a good one." The glow faded a bit. "Did you deserve it?"

"Hai."

"Cho-chan, do I need to crack him over the head or anything?"

"No, Kagome-sama. It was a small matter, and I have had my revenge." Cho bowed. "I must go and change, though. Thank you for your concern."

Sesshomaru was still watching his son closely. "Katsuro."

"I swear, I didn't touch her! Okay, okay, I stole her hair comb and she tackled me to get it back. That's it."

"Hn."

"Go on, Katsuro, and don't worry about it." Kagome waved Katsuro away before tugging Sesshomaru down by a sleeve. "They don't smell like each other, do they?"

"Very faintly. I believe his story."

"Good, then I don't need to hit him over the head." Resting her staff on her shoulder, Kagome led the way to the field. "I can't believe Cho tackled him, I didn't think she had it in her."

"Of course she did."

"Is this another youkai thing?"

"And you have never attacked a male you were attracted to?"

Kagome made a face. "Okay, you got me on that one. I guess it is a little bit like hitting a boy on the arm and running away. Does Cho like Katsuro now?"

"I will not waste time trying to sort out the partnerships in this group. I do not believe any of them are thinking anymore."

"There's just four of them, and that includes a pair of siblings. Not many options, really."

"Cho has both male's attentions, and Shippou has started to watch Mizuki."

"Nani? For someone who doesn't want to sort things out you certainly seem to be watching a lot."

The gold eyes slanted over. "I am observant. I simply do not choose to try predicting what will happen next."

"No kidding. Mizuki and Shippou have hated each other from day one. Has Mizuki even noticed the change?"

"No."

"It's you she takes after, you know. Poor Shippou. Cho's after Katsuro, and Mizuki is oblivious." On the field they could see Mizuki tossing Shippou to the ground. "Oh, that looks like it hurt."

"Do not forget Seiji."

"What about Seiji? Mizuki won't even tell him what day it is. She's been avoiding him like a diseased outcast."

"Hai. She has been training like one possessed."

Kagome missed a step. "Just like I did."

"Hai."

Kagome watched Mizuki as she was pinned down by the kitsune, who now had a smug expression. "Are you saying that part of Mizuki wants Seiji?"

"If she truly hated him, he would be dead already."

"But they're even more violent then we were!"

Sesshomaru smirked. "As you said, she takes after me. A dragon courting my daughter. It was bound to be violent."

"Courting? Her avoiding him and him beating her up is courting?"

"In a primitive manner."

"I like Katsuro's way of doing things."

That slightly puzzled expression was on Sesshomaru's face, as it frequently was when dealing with Kagome.

"What?"

"And you were concerned about Cho's ripped kimono."

"Oh, yeah. But it was harmless!"

"Because he gave back her hair comb without a fight."

Kagome threw her hands in the air. "I don't understand this and I give up! I'm just going to assume that Mizuki is absolutely in love with Shippou because she is crushing him into a tree right now. Mizuki! Stop that!"

"Hai, Mama."

The kitsune was dropped to the ground and began rubbing his wrist. "Arigato, Kagome-chan!"

Mizuki walked over to her parents, bowing as she got close. "Father, mother, how are you?"

"Mizuki." Sesshomaru watched Shippou as he picked himself up and followed Mizuki. 'Yes, he does seem interested. And Mizuki seems oblivious.'

"We're fine, Mizuki-chan, but I'm a little concerned about Shippou. Are you alright, Shippou-kun?"

"I'm fine, Kagome-chan. I won't let her hurt me too much." The kitsune pulled out his most adorable smile, but Mizuki was watching her father.

"He could have escaped." The taiyoukai's attention was on his daughter.

"Then how?"

Sesshomaru reached over and grabbed Shippou by an arm. "Here." The kitsune was twisted up into a knot and pinned down.

"Ah. Can his arm slip?"

"Believe me, no way!" Shippou squirmed as much as possible. "Let me up!"

"Here." Sesshomaru released Shippou and handed him to his daughter, who promptly started to twist him up again.

"How did you restrain the left leg?"

"Kagome-chan!"

"Let him go, both of you! He's not a toy!" Kagome waded in and pulled Shippou out. "Katsuro's up at the palace. You might want to go that way."

"Hai, Kagome-chan." The kitsune took off before he could be used as another example.

Sesshomaru looked faintly disappointed. "Later."

"Hai, father. I should return to the palace as well." Mizuki bowed to her parents again before setting off.

"Both of you need to be nicer to Shippou. Poor guy." Kagome gave her mate a glare before watching Mizuki again.

"We did not harm him." Sesshomaru followed her gaze as she watched their daughter.

"Do have to be a totally insufferable bastard?"

"Hn."

Mizuki walked past Seiji as he was leaving the palace, and the two nodded at each other as they passed.

"Did you see that?" Kagome's jaw hung down. "They were downright civil!"

"Hai."

"Does that mean they hate each other now?"

"I am not certain."

"If you don't know we're totally lost." Kagome strolled out onto the field. "If I remember correctly, you're supposed to be eating dirt, youkai."

"Unlikely." Sesshomaru followed her, pulling Tensaiga. Kagome hated it when he drew

Tokijin around her. Evidently the sword made her itch the same way her aura could make youkai itch.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were all talk."

"Then I will give you the opportunity to test this theory."

Kagome did not even bother with a barrier, since all it would do was wear her out while her mate battered it till it collapsed. When he lunged in she swept up to block, sending Tensaiga bouncing up and pulling his arm with it. A blade of healing or not, it was still a youkai blade and was deflected by her glowing staff. She took a swipe at his middle, making him dodge back and start to circle her.

"What's taking so long, youkai?" Kagome rocked side to side as she taunted. "My ancestors are probably not impressed."

A flash of movement and Sesshomaru was directly behind her. She squeaked and spun, throwing up a temporary barrier to stop his attack. Tensaiga bounced harmlessly away, but the taiyoukai was still standing there, ignoring his close proximity to her barrier. She could not burn him at all anymore, and he knew it. All he had to do was wait for her to get tired.

Backpedaling, Kagome tried to get some distance so that her staff would be useful again, but Sesshomaru was having none of it. He was staying right with her, forcing her to keep up the barrier and stay on the defensive. Defiance blazing in her eyes, Kagome suddenly shifted direction and let Sesshomaru slam right into her barrier before pushing him back. When he pressed against her barrier, she dropped it and threw out a hand to knock him away.

Sesshomaru was waiting for her to drop the barrier. When she threw out her hand, he reached past her and grabbed her arm, spinning her around so that she was pressed against his chest with both of her arms pinned to her sides by one of his.

"Oh, you think so, huh?" Kagome may not have been able to burn him, but she certainly was not helpless. There was a surge of power as she blasted her mate, trying to throw him off of her.

The taiyoukai was, predictably enough, sent flying. What the miko had not counted on was just how strong he was. He kept his grip on her, and she went flying along with him. In the air Sesshomaru debated how they should land. 'It is her fault that we are in this situation, but she will be very difficult to live with if she is crushed. It is probably in my best interest to not let her folly injure her.' Twisting, he insured that the miko landed on top of him, cushioned from the ground.

"That didn't work." Kagome turned her head to look behind her. "Are you okay?"

"You are usually not concerned about my welfare after throwing me."

"I never really realized how far you're going. That was quite a fall."

"Hai."

"So I take it that you're fine."

"Are you yielding?"

"Nani?" Kagome struggled in his grip, his arm still pinning her arms to her sides. "No!"

"Do you truly have a choice?"

"I'll think of something!"

Sesshomaru flipped them both over, so Kagome was face down with him pressing down from above, Tensaiga in his free hand.

'He's going to need to let go of me to change his grip.' The miko waited, carefully monitoring his mind. When there was a slight surge of annoyance and his weight shifted, she was ready. The second the clawed hand loosened its grip she sent him flying again, this time by himself. She got up and sauntered over, letting her hips swing. "No, I don't yield."

With a squeal Kagome was flattened and pinned to the ground again, faster then she could try to defend herself. She had learned her lesson, and had no intention of trying to throw him off while he had a grip. Her mouth was seized in a deep kiss as her body was crushed to the ground. His tongue slipped inside to stroke hers, making her mind slip away from any thoughts of fighting. When she was properly senseless, Sesshomaru broke away. "Say yes."

"Huh?"

"Say yes."

Kagome's fogged up mind did not seem to be interested in putting up a fight. "Sure. Yeah. Whatever."

"Then you yield."

"Nani?" The fog was blasted away. "That's cheating! Kissing like that is cheating!"

"Much too late now, miko." Sesshomaru smirked as he lowered his head to run his nose just below her ear, listening as her breathing caught. He turned his attention to her ear lobe, making a small moan escape her. "Would you like to be released?"

"Not as long as you're doing that!"

"Should we retire to a more private location before one of your offspring finds us?"

"My offspring? They're half yours, Papa."

"Not when they are impulsive or annoying. Then they are yours."

Kagome bit him hard on the side of his neck, leaving a small mark. "Jerk."

"Continue with that behavior and we will not be going anywhere." The sharp fangs were dragged down Kagome's own throat, making her shiver.

"Okay, okay, I'll be good."

"Unlikely." Sesshomaru got to his feet, sheathing Tensaiga and picking up his mate as he went.

"I can walk, you know."

"Hn."

"Bad doggie. Drop it."

Both eyebrows went up into his hair. "Nani?"

"I've been wanting to say that for centuries now."

"You will pay for that, miko."

"Bring it on, youkai."

----

"She is leaving."

"And this concerns me how?"

The first hidden figure chuckled. "What if I told you that she was meeting with Sesshomaru?"

The visitor tensed. "And? How would this be of help to me?"

"They are not meeting at his home. He will be away from his soldiers, as will she."

"I do not think Sesshomaru needs his soldiers to protect himself."

The chuckle grew louder. "I think I can make this worth your while, though. I know you have an army of your own, and I would be willing to offer support. All I want in exchange is her death."

"Where are they meeting, then?"

"We are not sure, but Merkamou is also on the move and may be joining them. If so it is quite likely that Hideaki will also be joining them. You may very well have a chance to bring down all of the taiyoukai at once."

Shifting his weight from foot to foot, the visitor debated. "This sounds too risky."

"With my support you will have the needed strength. And Sesshomaru's bitch will be there. She never leaves his side."

"Yes . . . " There was a long silence. "I will call in my army, and any others that are willing to join the cause. With your support we can destroy the taiyoukai that hold Japan in their iron grip, all in one night."


	78. Visitors

A/N: Well, it happened again. Two chapters instead of one. But I doubt anyone will complain. Mr. J, that's actually kind of tempting. I'll keep it in the back of my mind. Hee hee. I will make a promise now, so everyone can stop yelling. Yes, Koga is coming. That's all I'm going to say, though. I'm so happy that I still have readers! My goodness this is a big beast. It's okay, though. I have my fun. As inuchick has reminded me on several occasions, I own a couple of them, but the best of them don't belong to me.

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"Okay, let's make sure we've got everything under control. Jaken is going to hold down the palace until we get back. Kumo's coming with us to keep the exterminator's village in one piece. Mizuki says that she has security for the palace set, and she's already sent a unit to the village to coordinate with Nami. We'll get there before anyone else so we can set everything up. I told the ladies to tell no one where we are meeting, not even their mates until they arrive. Mizuki insisted. We leave tomorrow. Did I forget anything?"

Sesshomaru stared at his mate. "There was no reason in that outburst."

"This is important! What else do we need to take care of? The palace is secure and Jaken is watching things for us. The kids are coming with us, and Seiji is going to meet with his mother. Mizuki dealt with security, and we will get there ahead of everyone else to make sure that things are set up. This should run smoothly as long as everyone shows up as expected."

"Gomen, Kagome-sama."

"AH!" Kagome spun with her hands out, impacting with the youkai that had appeared behind her and sending him flying. "What the hell!"

'That was even more entertaining then I had expected.' Sesshomaru fought down his amusement as Kagome ran right past the second visitor to the downed youkai.

Dropping to her knees, Kagome peered down at the gold eyes. "Merkamou! What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"Greetings, Kagome-sama. And how have you been? Do you remember my sister, Akane?" Merkamou was still flat on his back, waiting for his muscles to start obeying him again. There was a singed mark on his kimono from Kagome's hand, and the smell of burnt silk was in the air.

"You know better then to sneak up on me like that!" With a mighty heave the little miko pulled Merkamou to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"You have done worse. As always, your home is the most entertaining location in all of Japan." Merkamou grimaced at the ruined kimono before looking over to Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru-sama."

"Merkamou-sama. What are you doing here?"

"Yuriko wished to leave early, so we thought to travel with you. Where are we going, anyways? My rather defiant daughter would not tell me."

"Good girl. I told her to not tell anyone. The exterminator's village. Akane-san, it's so nice to see you again! Merkamou didn't tell me that you were the one he was bringing." Kagome let go of Merkamou when she saw Sesshomaru's glare. 'Will he ever stop?'

"It is a pleasure to see you as well, Kagome-sama." Akane gave a small bow, smiling at her rather battered brother. "I did say that you should announce yourself when you came in."

"And you were correct as usual, sister. Now I know why Yuriko-chan was so excited to go on this trip. She is quite fond of Nami-san."

Kagome glanced around. "Where is Yuriko-chan, anyways?"

"She is out retrieving the boys."

"Oh, no."

----

Shippou and Katsuro strolled towards the field where Mizuki was waiting.

"I'm so glad it's your turn. She's getting a bit too good at this for my taste."

Katsuro grimaced. "It's pretty much all she's done for almost two moons now. She better be getting good. I don't know if she even likes it, but she's so determined that it doesn't even matter."

"Is she going to challenge Seiji?"

"I think so. They've been pretty polite lately, but you just mention fighting him and her eyes light up. It's kind of scary."

"Better him then me. She's been nicer to me lately. I think she considers me a friend now."

The hanyou narrowed his eyes in a look stolen from father. "Friends, Shippou?"

"What? I can't be friends with her?"

"When have you ever been just friends with a pretty lady?"

"It happens sometimes."

"Sometimes I think you spent too much time with that hentai monk Mama traveled with."

"Just enough to learn to keep my hands to myself, especially around exterminators."

"Did you hear something?"

Both of the males were flattened, forming two small craters with a weight keeping them down.

"Good day, my lords."

Shippou spit out dirt. "Oh, no."

Katsuro turned his head to glare over his shoulder. "Yuriko."

Ah-Un landed near by, both faces showing teeth in a dragon grin. Letting the two males up, Yuriko dusted herself off and returned to the dragon. "Have you missed me?"

"Sure, except for the whole dropping on us thing." Katsuro shoved himself out of the crater. "You're too fond of injuring me."

"And Rin-chan had you beating on me as soon as you could walk. A habit you never dropped." Shippou was pulled up by Katsuro.

"I am flattered." Yuriko's gold eyes flashed as she smiled at them, her long, black hair and feathers blowing back in the wind. Dressed in the same style her mother had adopted but in the colors of flame, she had her mother's grace and her father's charisma. "So, where were you headed? Anything fun?"

"Ki-chan is waiting for us." An evil grin lit up Katsuro's features. "Maybe you should come along."

"Why? What could Mizuki be doing that would be of interest to me?"

"She's training."

"Really? Now I am interested."

"And maybe you can save me a couple of bruises."

----

'They are late. As is their habit. I should have words with shetai about this.' Mizuki moved through her drill, keeping her breathing even.

A hint of a familiar scent set her on alert. 'If I am not mistaken, that smelled like Ah-Un. Yuriko.' Continuing as though she had noticed nothing, Mizuki let her ears swivel to listen for any sign of her niece.

There was a flash of movement, Ah-Un swooping out of the trees with Yuriko already half way out of the saddle. Mizuki snapped up her naginata and caught her niece across the middle as she dropped, tossing her aside.

Yuriko rolled and came up to her feet, smiling. "Hello, Auntie."

"Yuriko."

The hawk hanyou drew her sword, a massive beast that Totosai had been 'convinced' to create for her. "Katsuro says that you've been practicing. Care to try against a real opponent?"

"Hey!" Katsuro's indignant yell gave his position in the trees away. "Oops."

Shippou smacked him on the back of the head. "Now you've done it!"

"I will deal with you later, shetai. I will deal with you now, Yuriko."

Yuriko gave her blade a little spin. "At your leisure, Mizuki."

Taking a deep breath, Mizuki let her eyes unfocus. She would wait for her impulsive niece to move first. With her mother's natural skill and her father's strength, Yuriko was a dangerous opponent and had been known to toss Katsuro around. Mizuki had no intention of letting the little hawk best her if she could avoid it.

The unmoving opponent threw Yuriko off. She had expected Mizuki to attack, or even go to a guard position, but she stood there doing nothing. The inu-hanyou did not even seem to be interested in defending herself. It was creepy, having those sapphire eyes unfocused in an unmoving face. Like facing a statue.

'I will make her move.' Yuriko dove in, her blade in motion. The sword whipped in close enough to cut Mizuki's hair, but the hanyou was perfectly still. Not until Yuriko moved in to finish her attack did she move, dropping down to let the blade whip through empty air as she dropped her naginata and pulled her short sword.

In such close quarters Yuriko's massive weapon had her at a disadvantage compared to Mizuki's much smaller sword. She back pedaled, trying to get away but her opponent seemed to be making up for her former passive behavior. Blow after blow was rained down on Yuriko, sending the hawk skittering backwards from the taller female. Executing a perfect back flip, Yurkio landed on a tree branch, finally out of Mizuki's range.

"You have been practicing, my dear Aunt."

Mizuki glared up at her opponent. "Are you frightened?"

"Of you? In a fair fight?" Yuriko burst out laughing.

"Then stop trying to hide in the trees, simpleton." Mizuki leapt to a branch within reach of Yuriko, taking the battle to her.

"Simpleton? I will knock you from this tree, dog." Yuriko slashed through the branch Mizuki was standing on, forcing her to jump to a different perch.

"Very well. The first one to fall from the tree is defeated."

"Agreed." Leaping after Mizuki, Yuriko aimed to take down another branch.

'That is correct, little hawk. Continue to attack the branches.' Mizuki leapt from branch to branch, staying just ahead of Yuriko's attacks. She doubled back and landed on a branch directly over her opponent's head, leaning down to slash at her. 'Come along, attack again.'

Yuriko slammed her sword through the branch above her, dodging it as it fell. Mizuki had not jumped clear in time, and was now falling from the tree. "Dogs do not belong in trees!"

Slamming her smaller sword into Yuriko's branch as she fell, Mizuki was brought to a stop and landed on a lower branch. Grabbing her opponent's ankle, she yanked hard. The hawk's foot was pulled out from underneath her and Yuriko was sent crashing onto her back. The impact broke the already damaged branch free from the tree and sent it to the ground, taking the stunned female with it.

Crouching in the tree, Mizuki could not suppress the feral smile. "Who does not belong in trees, little hawk?"

"I cannot believe you pulled that off, Mizuki." Yuriko picked herself up slowly, rubbing her back.

Dropping from the tree, the sapphire eyes tracked over to where the two males were still watching. "You may come out now."

"You first." Shippou gave Katsuro a hard shove, knocking him from the tree.

"Traitor!" Fortunate that he had landed on his feet, Katsuro tried to look nonchalant as he joined his sister. "Nice work, Ki-chan."

"Hai." Mizuki hit her brother in the back of the head with her now sheathed sword.

"Okay, I guess I deserved that." Rubbing his head, Katsuro gave his sister a smile. "But you have to admit that it felt good to beat her."

"Hai."

"Katsuro." Yuriko had her hands on her hips. "You sent me in to fight her, and now you are happy that I have lost?"

"Uh oh." Backing away, Katsuro bumped into Shippou who had finally gotten up the courage to join them. "Well, she is my sister, I should cheer her on."

"Perhaps I should practice knocking dogs out of trees with you."

"Say, where's your father? Shouldn't we be greeting him? Mama will want us to come up and be friendly. We should go to the palace." Grabbing Shippou by the arm, Katsuro beat a hasty retreat.

"I have seen him in battle, and I know that he is a brave warrior. However, I must say that he is not showing this right now. Coward!" Yuriko yelled after the running males.

"He is correct. We should greet your father." Mizuki retrieved her naginata.

"Oh, fine. I am sure that Kagome-chan will wish to see me as well."

"That is certain."

----

'I must discuss the seating arrangements with mother.' Mizuki kept her breathing even and tried not to bristle at the dragon directly across from her or the hawk next to her. With the unexpected guests they had changed to the larger dining hall, and not the one that the family usually sat at. Cho was at her left, which did help things, and Katsuro was delighted to be on Cho's other side. Shippou was pouting on the end. 'Too many underlying problems for this to work out smoothly.'

Merkamou monopolized the meal with his stories, but no one was in a hurry to retire. After the meal had been cleared away the family and guests mingled and gossiped.

"Mizuki, is that Seiji?" Yuriko whispered to her aunt, trying to keep things quiet enough that none of the taiyoukai would hear them.

"Hai." Keeping her gaze off of the dragon, Mizuki tried to think about anything other then her current situation. Such as smashing either of her tormentors into the ground repeatedly. Cho smiled faintly at the slight tightness around her friend's eyes. Bringing up Seiji always seemed to cause that reaction.

"That is your intended?"

"He is not my intended."

"Really?" Yuriko gave Seiji an appraising look, making the dragon raise his eyebrows at her bold behavior. "Are you certain?"

"Quite. Why is it of your concern?"

"I would hate to see such a prime specimen go to waste."

Mizuki snapped her eyes around to Yuriko's face. "Nani?"

"Well, if you are not courting him, then there is no problem with a little harmless flirtation. You said that he was not your intended."

"He is not." Forcing her attention back to a distant wall, Mizuki let the claws of her left hand bury themselves into her palm. 'Mama will have a fit later.'

Cho's eyes traveled down to Mizuki's hand, sighing softly when she saw the tight fist. "Mizuki." The sapphire eyes flicked over and the fist relaxed somewhat.

"This could be fun. It will help to pass the time while we are at this little meeting. While I am here I may be able to escape Papa's ever watchful eyes. You have to admit, Mizuki. He is quite attractive."

"It is a moot point, Yuriko-san. Alliances are not built on who is the most attractive." Slight concern was staring to push to the front of Cho's thoughts. 'Yuriko is hitting some very sore spots that I do not think even Mizuki is aware of.'

"Then I guess it will not matter to you that both Katsuro and Shippou are watching you like starving animals." Yuriko glanced over Cho's shoulder to where Katsuro and Shippou were both watching.

Mizuki resisted the urge to slam her fist through a wall. "They are probably staring for the same reason that you are staring at Seiji-san with such interest."

"Some how I think Seiji-san is more interesting to watch. No offense, Cho-san, but you strike me as being very quiet and polite. Like Mizuki."

'If she had the sense of a new born pup she would stop now.' "I am not interested in my brother's or his companion's relationship with Cho-san." Bringing her temper back under control, Mizuki gave Cho a glance and received a slight nod in return. They would be making their exit in the very near future.

"Very interesting." Yuriko gave Seiji another look, making eye contact for a moment before breaking away. "I was concerned that I would be bored, but that does not look like a problem any more."

----

Merkamou was watching his daughter, and leaned over to whisper to Kagome. "She is looking at that dragon."

Kagome gave him an exasperated look. "It happens."

"She should not be looking at him that way."

"What way?"

"Like she has just spotted a nice rabbit to bring down."

"She's young, he's handsome, of course she's looking. As long as it's just looking it's fine, even though he is supposed to be here for Mizuki."

The hawk did not look convinced. "Should I kill him?"

"I wish you all luck with this argument, Kagome-sama. I have made no progress with him." Akane gave her brother a dark look. "No male at our court will even look Yuriko-chan's way for fear of her father's wrath."

"No, you shouldn't kill him for just standing there. Rin-chan wasn't kidding, I'm really going to have to watch you."

Arms crossed, Merkamou dragged his eyes away from the male that had caught his daughter's attention. "I was his age once."

Kagome gave the red hair a tug. "And I was hers. Just leave it be. Really. She's a big girl and she can take care of herself."

"Very well. If you insist. But if he does anything objectionable . . . "

"Then you can do whatever you want and we'll use Tensaiga to bring him back and present him to Akira. Deal?"

"Deal."

"I am impressed, Kagome-sama." Akane smiled. "Perhaps Yuriko will actually be allowed to speak to the opposite sex one day."

"I've been dealing with Sesshomaru for centuries. Merkamou is a breeze compared to that."

"Excuse me, miko?" Sesshomaru's gold eyes were waiting when she turned to face him.

"Uh, nothing, dear."

----

"Shippou, do you see what I see?"

"I see Cho, Mizuki, and Yuriko whispering together." Shippou glanced over the leopard. "And Cho looks amazing in that kimono."

Rolling his eyes, Katsuro tried to break into Shippou's attention. "Focus, Shippou! They're plotting!"

The green eyes widened. "Oh, no. I don't think I like that group talking to each other."

----

Seiji ignored the hijinks of the adults and kept his eyes on the three females that were whispering together. The black haired female kept giving him looks that any male would recognize, while Mizuki kept her eyes locked on the far wall. His aunt was watching Mizuki with some concern in her eyes. 'A fascinating trio. One that is as loud and impulsive as her father, one very elegant and conservative taiyoukai lady, and one that might as well be an ice sculpture. Of the three I think that Aunt Cho is the most predictable, followed closely by this new female. Mizuki is the only one that is completely unpredictable to me.'

Mizuki finally looked over, but only to give him a cold stare before leaving the room with Cho. 'And she is still avoiding me.'

----

"Don't you know how to knock?"

Yuriko shrugged and flopped onto Katsuro's futon. "And were you doing anything important?"

"Not really, but it's still rude." Shoving his niece out of the way, Katsuro pulled his reading out from under her. "What are you up to?"

"What do you think of Cho?"

Katsuro's jaw dropped. "Nani?"

"I saw you watching her after dinner. What is the attraction there?"

"You're so much like your father! Couldn't you have inherited any of Rin-neechan's tact?"

"You are avoiding the question."

"She's attractive, all right? That's it. I like watching her because she's beautiful. If you want to talk to someone about being attracted, get Shippou."

"Get Shippou for what?" The kitsune walked through the open door with some books. "Here's the stuff from Mizuki."

"Arigato, Shippou." Katsuro took his new pile of work and dropped it on the floor. "Yuriko here wants to know why you are attracted to Cho."

"Nani?" Shippou blushed scarlet. "You just got here!"

"You are quite obvious." Yuriko sat up to watch her friend. "Why do you watch her so closely?"

"She's beautiful."

"That is the same answer I got for him. It must be more then that."

Shippou sat next to the futon. "She's very elegant and polite and nice. I like spending time with her, and she can be really funny."

"She struck me as being quite dull."

"Sure, until you get her mad. Then she tackles you to get her comb back." Katsuro smiled a bit at the memory. "She has a temper."

"Don't be ridiculous, Katsuro. She's not like that. She's a real lady." Shippou crossed his arms. "Just because she did stuff like that when you were both little . . . "

"Little? That was just a couple of weeks ago!"

"Nani? When did this happen?"

"While you were out flirting with Ki-chan. Oh, I mean training."

"Mizuki? Shippou, please tell me that he is joking." Yuriko stared at Shippou.

"I was not flirting with Mizuki!" Shippou aimed a sharp glare at his friend.

"Oh, yes. You're just friends." Katsuro rolled his eyes.

Yuriko continued to stare at Shippou. "Cho and Mizuki? Why?"

"I don't know. They're both really beautiful, and I like spending time with Cho. Mizuki's not bad when she's not beating up on me or threatening to kill me." Shippou caught himself. "But it's not like that with Mizuki!"

"That is quite a foundation for a relationship."

"Oh, knock it off, Yuriko." Katsuro punched her in the arm. "Don't go all girly on us. Even though, I did see you watching Seiji. Ki-chan won't like it."

"Why not? She said that he is not her intended." Yuriko punched Katsuro back, making him wince. "And I am not going 'all girly' on you. I am simply fascinated at the choices you two have made. How dull!"

"Compared to you any female would be dull." Shippou grinned. "Who could keep up with you, Yuriko?"

"Very true, Shippou." Smiling, Yuriko jumped up to her feet. "Now I will let you return to whatever important work Mizuki has assigned you. Until tomorrow, my lords."

"'Night, Yuriko!" "Good night, Yuriko!" Both of the males waved her out before returning to the papers from Mizuki.

Moving through the dark palace, Yuriko bit her lip in concentration. 'Elegant, calm, beautiful. Is that what males truly want?' Once in her own room, the young lady dropped down on a cushion in front of her mirror. Pulling a set of jade sticks from her bag, she started to twist her hair up the way Cho had worn her own hair that night. Yuriko preferred to wear her hair loose, but she did keep the jade sticks her mother had worn. She could remember her mother showing her how to pin her hair up, giggling as her rebellious hair had escaped time and again.

"_I think you have inherited my hair, Yuriko-chan. It does not want to be tamed. No matter. You also have those beautiful feathers from your Papa, and they look loveliest with your hair loose." Smiling, Rin shook her daughter's hair out so that it hung loose. "See? Stunning."_

"_Hai, Mama. I will leave it loose unless I have to, I think. I like it better this way." Yuriko tipped her head to the side, looking at the two reflections in the mirror. "But with my hair up I look so much like you, and I like that part."_

"_Then you should keep these, for the times when you have to put your hair up. They also make a handy weapon." Rin slipped the jade sticks into a bag and handed them to her daughter._

"_I will remember that, Mama. Do you think I look more like Papa or more like you?"_

"_I think you look like Yuriko-chan."_

"_Very funny, Mama."_

"_I am not kidding. You look like you, and you are going to be amazing, my daughter."_

"_Arigato, Mama."_

A stray feather fell across her eyes, refusing to be contained. Yuriko dropped her chin in her hands, staring at her reflection. 'I am not Cho, either, or even remotely like her. Males see me as a friend only. They chase after the elegant ladies while seeing me as just another companion. Mama, I really could use you right now. I miss you.'

Releasing her hair again, Yuriko blew out her light and went to bed. 'This is not a problem. I will simply need to convince him that he does not want a polite, elegant, boring female. What he wants is me.'

----


	79. Rematch

A/N: And part two.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do not actually kill him, Mizuki."

"Hai, father." Mizuki backed away from her brother, letting him pick himself up.

"You're still mad at me from yesterday, aren't you?"

"Nonsense." The white hair was shook back as Mizuki circled her brother.

"Oh, I can tell. You're still pissed."

"Katsuro, I will work with her." Sesshomaru moved out to take Katsuro's place.

Despite her best efforts, Mizuki's hands still tensed when she saw her father draw his sword. No matter that this was practice, or that he was her father. Her instincts were screaming at her that he was a dangerous male and that she should not be standing there, baka!

'Katsuro insists that she showed excellent instincts when she was pushed.' Narrowing his eyes, Sesshomaru shifted his weight slightly. 'We shall see.'

'This does not look promising.' Mizuki fought the urge to back up as she saw her father shift.

Quick as thought he was on her, hammering away with all of the speed he had available. There was no time for a plan as Mizuki snapped up her naginata, using it to block all of the attacks. Dancing back, the hanyou had no choice but to let her reflexes take control as her father continued to push her, backing her up across the field.

----

'At any other residence I would be alarmed at the sound of steel ringing off steel away from the guards, but here I am simply curious.' Seiji moved towards the sound, hoping to catch a glimpse of Katsuro and Mizuki working.

It was not Katsuro that Mizuki was tangled with, but her own father. And she was holding her own.

'She does not have her brother's natural skill, but she has enough determination to make up for it. She will not accept defeat, and now she has learned some technique to go with her will. I cannot wait to try this new form out.'

Sparks flew as Sesshomaru rained down blows, forcing her back. When the naginata swung towards the ground, he thought that it had been knocked from one of her hands.

The little dagger that she always seemed to have was glittering in her father's arm while the empty hand went for the short sword at her waist. A little thing like a dagger would not slow a taiyoukai down, but it was rather distracting when unexpected. With her naginata in one hand and the sword in the other, Mizuki warily circled her father.

Yanking the dagger free, Sesshomaru threw it, making his daughter dodge and distracting her. He came in again, hoping to overwhelm her. She caught his blow with the short sword, trapping Tokijin between her naginata and the blade. Twisting, she tried to force the pommel out of her father's hands.

Close enough to see his reflection in his daughter's eyes, Sesshomaru fought to free his weapon. She was growling, her cold eyes locked on him as she pushed. A blatant challenge. A low growl escaped him in return, a faint red haze appearing over his eyes.

Seeing her father's expression just goaded Mizuki on, making her push harder. She was not getting Tokijin away, so she started to slide her short sword in closer, hoping to make a kill. Sesshomaru forced the tangle of weapons down and brought an elbow to her throat, forcing her to free his weapon. While she was still recovering he got her short sword away, leaving her with the naginata.

Still as stone, Mizuki waited for her father's next move. She was increasingly at a disadvantage, but at least she was putting in a good showing this time. When her father struck again, she spun her body as well as her weapon, allowing her to get in one hit on his arm, even as Tokijin connected with the shaft with enough force to rattle it loose. Struggling with her grip, she blocked his next attack and backed up, trying to buy some time. He lunged at her, and she let go of the naginata with one hand to grab onto his wrist. It was an effective distraction, and let her spin her blade towards his middle. Unfortunately, Sesshomaru was too fast for this to work, and he broke her grip and knocked the naginata away.

Both weapons were gone now, and Tokijin glittered as it rested against her throat. Mizuki kept her eyes on her father's, her chin raised.

"Well done, Mizuki."

"Arigato, father." Bowing, she turned to shoot a quick smile to her brother, who was doing that thumbs up thing their mother liked to do.

"And your opinion, Seiji-san?"

'So much for not noticing me in the heat of battle.' Seiji moved into the clearing, respectfully looking towards Sesshomaru while trying to watch Mizuki in his peripheral vision. "I see vast improvement, my lord."

"Hn." Slipping his sword back into his sheath, the inu-youkai stared at the dragon. When he was certain that Seiji was squirming mentally, he broke the look and walked back to the palace.

Seiji found Mizuki watching him closely with an unreadable expression. "Vast improvement?"

"Hai."

The silence stretched out as the hanyou trailed her claws over her weapon. "Perhaps you would be interested in a rematch, then."

Katsuro made frantic gestures, trying to wave either of the temperamental pair off.

"If that is your wish, Mizuki-san."

"Hai."

"Should I just go get the healer now?" Katsuro glared at both of them.

"Not necessary. I will not do any damage to him that will require a healer." Mizuki retrieved her dagger and slipped it into its sheath. "At your leisure, Seiji-san."

"Oh, Kami help us all." Clutching Shou, Katsuro settled in to watch.

'And there is that look.' The sapphire eyes that were watching Seiji had a fire in the center, a heat that set off his reactions to a threat. 'I have only seen that look when she intends harm to me, and yet I find it so fascinating. I have not seen that look directed at anyone else, but I also seem to be the only one that can raise her ire with my mere presence.'

'Do not charge. Wait.' Fighting the urge to just fling herself into the fight Mizuki stayed still, watching Seiji draw his own sword.

'I have seen this before. She will wait for me to move first. However, I know how to make her move.' Seiji had to fight to keep a straight face. "What are you waiting for, intended?"

Mizuki saw red as she put the naginata into motion. While part of her mind was screaming for her to stick with her original plan, the other part wanted the dragon's blood and wanted it now. Fortunately, her rational mind was able to wrestle back control before she actually closed. Feinting to the left, she shifted her grip to swing the endcap at her opponent, making him move to avoid her. "I am not your intended."

"Our parents would disagree." Seiji grabbed the shaft of the naginata. He intended to yank it from her grip, and was quite surprised when she did not lose her grip. The force of the move yanked his smaller opponent in close, almost bouncing her off of his chest. "And you do seem quite eager to be close to me."

Unable to control all of her reactions, Mizuki lifted her knee up sharply. Seiji managed to squirm away, but he had to release her naginata to protect the more delicate parts of his anatomy. "I do not want to be any closer to you then is necessary to rip your head from your shoulders."

"Then, by all means, try." Seiji's next swing was close enough to make Mizuki's kimono move, even with her quick reactions.

Temper snapping, Mizuki threw her naginata like a spear. The dragon managed to twist out of the way, but he was hit with a glancing blow. The deflected weapon landed much too close to Katsuro for his comfort. "Hey! Watch it, Ki-chan!"

Seiji looked at his arm, where blood was spreading across the silk. "I will exact revenge for this, Mizuki-san."

"For someone that cannot seem to catch me, you do make a lot of threats."

Now the dragon could feel his own control slipping. "Are you saying that I cannot defeat you, wench?"

"Wench?" Mizuki stared at her opponent.

"Oh, hell." Katsuro actually felt the blood run away from his face. "Seiji-san, bad idea!"

"I will not lose to this hanyou." Seiji was advancing on her, his eyes darkening.

"I am so tired of hearing that word. It is pathetic that you cannot find something else to say about me."

Fury was quickly replacing reason. The female stood in front of him, glaring and growling while her hands were empty. Seiji drew his sword back, a growl of his own echoing hers. "Wench."

She saw the opening and went for it, slamming into the dragon and dragging him to the ground. He tried to get his sword back into play, but she had her claws buried in his arm and was not letting go. Snarling, Seiji flipped both of them over, but Mizuki kept them moving and put Seiji back onto the defensive. His free hand had her by the shoulder, burying his claws into her flesh to keep her at bay.

Mizuki managed to get the claws of her other hand into his side, leaving a long row of gashes. The claws at her shoulder were digging in as he pushed her, trying to get his sword arm free. Ignoring what would happen to her shoulder, she slammed her hand into his wrist, tearing the hand away. Continuing to attack, she grabbed onto his throat.

At the last instant sense returned to Mizuki's eyes as she realized what she was about to do. Panting, she stared at the eyes beneath her as she eased her hand away from his throat. "Gomen nasai, Seiji-san."

"You were thinking about ripping out my throat." Seiji continued to glare as Mizuki released his arm as well as his throat, still staring at him.

"Hai."

Trailing a hand over his scratched throat, Seiji's glare softened as his dry sense of humor caught up with him. "Well, I suppose you think I should be thanking you for stopping."

Amused, Mizuki let herself smirk. "Hai."

"Arigato, Mizuki-san."

Suddenly quite aware that she was still pressing him to the ground, Mizuki jumped to her feet and away from Seiji. A quick glance showed that her brother was watching her very closely, wearing a goofy grin. 'I will not have any peace now.'

"You are both going to be in big trouble when Mama sees you." Katsuro pushed part of the slashed kimono on his sister's shoulder out of the way, grimacing at the damage. "Could you have done this without the bloodshed?"

"I am not to blame for those. She knocked my hand away." Seiji looked at his own arm. "I think I came out of this exchange in worse condition then she did."

"The cut on your arm was quite shallow, and it most likely already healed." Mizuki ignored her brother's fussing. "My shoulder will take days to heal completely."

"I was referring to this." Holding up his arm, the dragon showed the row of punctures that were not healing as expected. "What exactly has happened to my arm?"

"Ki-chan! You're not supposed to poison anyone!"

"He will heal in a day or so." Mizuki turned away while she scrambled in her mind. 'I poisoned him? I must have truly lost control while grappling with him. Mama will be furious.'

"We should sneak you two into the palace. Father won't tell Mama if I ask him not to, and if she doesn't see you like this she'll never know. Go around the outside, and I'll meet you in Ki-chan's room." Katsuro set off across the grounds.

"Do you believe that he meant both of us?"

Mizuki gritted her teeth. "Hai. After he talks to father he will probably bring a change of clothing to you."

"Then we should go, Mizuki-san. I do not believe either of us wants to face your mother should she see us like this."

It was quick business for the duo to cut across the grounds and over to Mizuki's window. Sliding the screen back, she jumped through the window and moved so that Seiji could follow her. The dragon was incredibly curious about this distant female's room, and did not even bother trying to hide it.

After closing her screen, Mizuki turned around the find Seiji walking about her room. Her own eyes raced around the room, looking for anything that could be embarrassing. Thankful that she had picked up recently, she rummaged through her clothing and ignored her unwanted guest.

"Are these your paintings, Mizuki-san?" Seiji stood in front of a pair of paintings.

"Hai." Mizuki could feel her face heat up, and realized she was blushing. "I have not painted in sometime."

"A pity. They are lovely. Where did this image come from?" The right hand painting had a ningen female on a two headed dragon charging a large, black dragon.

"That was my sister, and coincidentally, a half brother of yours. An assassin from when I was a pup."

"I have heard this story. This half brother of mine was killed, and that started the war two hundred years ago. After that my mother took control of the East."

"Hai, and that was when the treaty was struck between East and West. Actually, that scene is the cause of the situation we are in. I would have never guessed that when it was happening."

Seiji glanced over his shoulder, watching the white haired female pull out a fresh kimono. "And where were you when this scene was taking place?"

"I was on the ground, fighting with father. Rin-neechan had dropped me into his arms before charging into battle." A small smile had appeared as Mizuki set the kimono down and moved over to the paintings. "I was furious."

"I can imagine. I do not need to ask about this other painting." The second piece showed two males fighting, one with long white hair and the other with black hair and fluffy ears.

"Shetai and father training. I believe Katsuro was about one century old when this was created. There is a mate to this that Mama keeps in her study."

A quick scan of the room revealed two more paintings directly across from the first two. "Shou, of course. The second one looks like your mother and another woman in a garden."

"Rin-neechan."

"I will admit that I am surprised to see these in your room. I never would have guessed that you would have such sentimental things about."

Mizuki turned on her heel, marching away to retrieve her kimono. "The room needed color, and they were the subjects I used when I was younger. As I said, I do not paint anymore."

"Too busy working."

"It is none of your concern."

"Of course, Mizuki-san." Seiji gave a deep bow to go with the patronizing tone.

"Do I need to give you matching set of injuries on the other arm?"

"Such a violent reaction to an innocent statement."

"You have no say in the way I live my life."

"Unless, of course, you come to the East with me."

"At this rate, that will never happen."

Seiji marched over to the hanyou and grabbed her arm, whipping her around to face him. "Enough. You wish to be Lady of the East, and I am here. At what point will you make a choice? You declare that I am not your intended, but you have told me that you wish to go with me. Which is it?"

Mizuki growled. "Let go of me."

"Answer the question."

"Yes. I wish to be Lady of the East, even if it means being with you."

'And why does that response make me want to rip her arm off?' The grip tightened as Seiji drew her in closer and locked onto her gaze. "And it does mean being with me. You should accept that part as well."

"I have accepted it."

"That means that you cannot attack me when I say that you are my intended."

"I am not until my parents have agreed."

"You will fight me every step of the way."

"Hai."

Claws punctured the silk around Mizuki's arm. "It may not be in your best interest."

"You must look away from me at some point. Do not underestimate me."

"Knock it off, the both of you!" Katsuro slid the door shut behind him. "I can't leave you two alone for a minute! Here, Seiji-san, you can change into this so Mama does not notice anything. Father knows, and he won't tell her. I grabbed some water and rags to clean your arm off, but you're still going to want to stop by the bath house. Father's not the only one with a decent nose."

Seiji released Mizuki, tossing a sly look at her as he accepted his new clothing. "Arigato, Katsuro-san. I am assuming that you sister would not care to join me at the baths? She is bleeding as well."

Katsuro grabbed Mizuki as she went for the dragon. "I'm not going to help either of you if you can't control yourselves! Seiji-san, go behind that screen and just clean up. Ki-chan, sit down. He'll be gone in a minute and you two can go back to ignoring each other."

"Unlikely." Seiji disappeared behind the screen. "We are leaving tomorrow, and she will not have the opportunity to hide from me anymore."

"I have not been hiding from you." Mizuki glared at the silhouette behind the screen.

"No more talking. Either of you!" Katsuro clamped a hand over his sister's mouth. "Out, Seiji-san. I'll talk to you later."

"Arigato, Katsuro-san." Seiji let himself out, injuries hidden beneath undamaged clothing.

Uncovering his sister's mouth, Katsuro backed away. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Mizuki grabbed her fresh kimono and disappeared behind the screen.

"You two! What is going on? You can't stop fighting, but you can't stop watching each other. I've never seen you fight like that, or him. I come in here, he's got you by the arm and you're threatening him, but you're standing awfully close to each other. And that last goad from him, that was pretty bad and you really would have killed him."

"Nothing is going on, shetai."

"Something is going on, Ki-chan. Father practically set you two up to fight today. He knows what's happening."

"You are overreacting." Her shoulder was a mess, some of the gashes had gone to the bone. "Shetai, I think I will need a hand bandaging this."

"What are you going to do? You two can't be left alone together, how could you live together?" Katsuro wound the bandage over the shredded flesh.

"It will be fine." Dressed in a new kimono, Mizuki looked like her usual, controlled self. "I have some tasks that I must complete before tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah." Katsuro slid the door open, but turned back for a last shot. "But you know I'm right."

Mizuki glared at the door long after Katsuro had left. 'I hate it when he is right.'

----

"They are on the move."

"This will never work." The visitor paced restlessly. "Sesshomaru will not miss an army coming towards him."

"A youkai army, no. A ningen army?"

"He has Merkamou with him, and that hawk has learned to watch ningens."

The shadowed figure smiled. "But he is not in his own lands, is he? He will not be expecting a ningen attack any more then Sesshomaru."

"As long as I can keep the youkai hidden."

"I cannot do everything for you. I will give you the forces that you need, but the rest is up to you. Remember. She must die."

"Hai. I am hoping that she will not be the only one."


	80. Gathering

A/N: Yet another monster chapter, but this one wouldn't split up nicely. So go to the bathroom and get a drink before starting this one.

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"Merkamou! Where are you? Usually you're early for a trip, and this one time you're late. Everyone is waiting out front! Where the . . . Oh!" Kagome stopped dead. She had found the taiyoukai in a room that was used to store some of the family's treasures. He was standing in front of a rack, staring at a pair of matching katanas. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were in here."

"I have not seen them since Sesshomaru-sama came to take them." Merkamou reached out with a claw, but pulled back before he could be shocked. There was a distant smile on his face. "They were a complete nuisance, since no one could touch them. I had planned on keeping them for Yuriko-chan, but even she could not touch them. Only Sesshomaru-sama."

"And that's only because he helped to make them." Kagome came to his side, looking at the beautiful weapons. "I've considered getting Totosai's help, since I'm pretty sure he could still handle them, but they were always very touchy blades. It's probably just better to leave them as they are."

"Hai." The gold eyes were distant, and the voice somewhat raspy. "I did not realize I would react like this to the sight of a couple of old blades."

"These were practically a part of Rin-chan. Of course you're going to react to seeing them for the first time in so long."

"It is getting easier. Slowly, though."

Kagome reached up and set a hand on his arm. "Would you like it if we moved them back to your home, or had Totosai take a look at them? He could probably get them to accept you or Yuriko."

"No. They are not mine, and I could never wield two katanas." The raspy voice was replaced by a chuckle. "She did try to teach me, and was very amused with my attempts. Yuriko can do it, and with considerable skill, but she prefers that beast she carries."

"That is quite the sword she hauls around."

"Hai. The merlin blamed it on me. She said that it was my influence."

"Well, it didn't come from her."

"Very true. My merlin preferred elegant, subtle weapons. Blasting flames from the sky is more my style."

Giggling, Kagome gave her friend's arm a squeeze. "Have you thought about what she told you in the end?"

Merkamou sighed and let his head droop. "I have thought on it. I am not ready yet, Kagome-chan. I am not certain if I will ever be. It was so short, but it meant so much. How could anyone follow after her?"

"She only wanted you to be happy. You're not an ancient."

"Oh, be still my heart. Such compliments, my lady."

The kind gesture was turned into a punch. "Watch it, troublemaker."

"Understood, Kagome." Holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender, he smiled and backed away. "No, I am not an ancient. And perhaps I will find another some day. But I cannot imagine it now."

"I'm not going to rush you. I did promise her I would look after you and Yuriko, though."

"I think that Yuriko could use your attentions more then I. Raising a daughter has been a challenge."

"No kidding. You've met Mizuki, right? She's caused me more sleepless nights then ten Katsuros."

"Hai, I have met her, and it is for the best that you are raising her and not me. I cannot even begin to fathom the way that her or Sesshomaru-sama's minds work." Merkamou gave a small shake of his head. "But you did say I was late, and I would hate to have any of them angry with me."

"Oi, I forgot! Yes, we're late! Move it!" Kagome hustled the taiyoukai from the room, chasing him all the way to the courtyard where everyone else was waiting. "Found him!"

"Papa, after all of your lecturing to make sure that I was not late." Yuriko was sitting backwards on Ah-Un, watching her father with amused eyes. "Perhaps I should have checked on you."

Merkamou gave his daughter a shove that almost knocked her off the dragon. "And I am certain you will never let me hear the end of this."

"Of course not, Papa."

"Can we leave now, miko?" The Captain was standing with Kumo, tapping one finger against his sword.

"I think we've got everyone now, Captain. Did we forget anyone?" Kagome glanced around the traveling party, counting heads.

"We're all here, Mama. The Captain is going to have a fit if we don't get going." Katsuro sat behind his sister on Shou, smiling at his rather anxious mother. In front of Mizuki was Cho, and his sister was keeping a close eye on his hands.

"Move over, Yuriko!" Shippou was supposed to be riding with his friend, but she was sprawled out across both seats.

"Very well." Turning herself around so she was facing the correct way, Yuriko made some room behind her for Shippou. "You could always turn into a big, pink ball and just float along."

"Ha ha. I'm not going to float all the way to the village." Swinging up behind Yuriko, Shippou poked her in the side.

"Why not? You used to spend quite a bit of time in that form."

"Mostly trying to avoid practices with you."

"What is wrong with practicing with me?"

"Bruises, and a lot of them."

"Are we going to fight the whole way?"

"Probably."

"We are leaving." Sesshomaru lifted Kagome and called his youkai cloud. Lifting up into the sky, he did not even glance back at the rest of the group.

Ah-Un and Shou took to the sky together, glad to have each other for company again. Merkamou and Akane were flashes of flame, streaking ahead and doubling back. Seiji transformed, adding a third dragon to the group. Mizuki was quite relieved to see that he was not black like his brothers, but instead a dark blue like his mother. The last pair to take off was Kumo and the Captain. Kumo had transformed into a large, white bird with violet eyes and carried the Captain with her, much to his annoyance.

"I don't like this, Kumo."

The bird hissed a bit, but otherwise ignored him.

"We could travel on foot and meet them there."

A firm shake made Kenshin shut up and hold on.

Watching from over Sesshomaru's shoulder, Kagome grinned at Kumo's tactics. As soon as the Captain had heard that both his mate and his Lady were going to this meeting he had insisted on joining them.

"_But remember, I'm still retired, so no getting into trouble! Either of you!" Glaring at both of the females, the Captain had looked no different to Kagome then when he was training her._

_While Kagome harrumphed and grumbled, Kumo had just looked at him._

"_Not that you would cause any trouble, Kumo. It is the miko we have to watch."_

"_Hey!"_

'Not that I mind having him around. I know Kumo's happy that he's coming with us. After all of the insane hours and crazed requests, I don't think I could tell her no to anything.' The little miko set her head on Sesshomaru's shoulder and gazed at the clouds. "I'm bored."

'I should have made her travel with Shou.' Sesshomaru tried to ignore her.

"I know you can hear me."

"Let go, Yuriko!" Shippou's voice was muffled from the headlock that Yuriko had him in. "Okay, okay, I take it back!"

"We have only just left!" Merkamou spun around the two wrestling on the dragon. "Shippou, do not provoke her!"

"I didn't do it!"

Katsuro leaned over to yell at the pair from Shou. "Hey, Yuriko! What did he say?"

"He said that Mizuki and I should just fight to see who gets Seiji."

"Excuse me?" Seiji moved in closer, the deep growl of his voice startling everyone.

"Shippou!" Kagome twisted to glare at the kitsune.

"She was staring at him again!" Even muffled by his captor, Shippou's voice was clear to everyone present.

"What do you mean, staring?" Merkamou hovered next to his daughter's shoulder.

"Leave it, Merkamou." The second streak of flame hovered at Yuriko's other shoulder. "Remember what Kagome-sama said."

"I was not. Besides, we would never fight like that." Yuriko released her friend, giving him a wicked look. "It would not be fair to Mizuki."

"Excuse me?" Moving Shou in closer, Mizuki stared at her niece.

"I am not a prize in a contest." Seiji looked quite miffed with the whole conversation.

Sesshomaru started to drift away from the rest of the group. 'This will be a long trip.'

----

"Nami-chan!"

Yuriko dropped off of Ah-Un before he could touch down, leaving Shippou alone on the dragon. The two heads glanced at each other before taking off, leaving the kitsune clinging to one of the necks and trying to grab the reins. "Stop!"

"Yuriko-chan, you look wonderful." Nami gave her trainee a warm hug before holding her at arm's length to look her over. "Have you been staying out of trouble?"

"Of course not. Come and greet Nami-chan, Papa."

Merkamou bowed to the exterminator, his sister just behind him. "A pleasure to see you again, Nami-san. This is my sister, Akane."

"Akane-sama, a pleasure to meet you. Yuriko-chan has spoken of you many times." Bowing to the quiet lady, Nami let her eyes lift to the group that was landing. "My goodness, you did bring everyone. Kagome-chan!"

"Nami-chan!" Leaping out of her mate's arms, Kagome ran forward to embrace Sango's several times over great grand daughter. "It's been too long!"

The slayer had Mirokou's eyes, but other then that she showed no similarities to the village's founders. She actually took after her father who had married into the village. What she had inherited was Sango's big heart.

"I'm glad to see you, too. How did you end up with so many people coming?"

"I have no idea. I hope we can find room for everyone." Kagome turned around and waved Kumo over. "This is Kumo, my assistant and the one in charge of everything."

"Nami-sama." Bowing low, Kumo kept her eyes down.

"No need to be so formal, Kumo-san. I'm glad to see anyone that can help. Where is Mizuki-san? Her guard arrived days ago and I'm sure she would like to know about them."

"Here, Nami-san." Mizuki slipped to the ground and bowed to Nami. "Have they followed your instructions?"

"To the letter. They are quite impressive."

"Arigato." Returning to Shou, she waited until Katsuro had helped Cho down before remounting and taking off after Ah-Un and Shippou.

"You are the first ones here. Word is that Hideaki-sama is on his way and will arrive tomorrow. Come inside and I'll help everyone find a spot to sleep."

Nami led the group of taiyoukai and hanyou into her home, amidst the stares of the exterminators that lived in the village.

"I feel like a piece of art that is on display." Cho glanced at the gawkers.

Katsuro made a face at some of the children, making them giggle. "You and me both."

----

"Hideaki-sama, Mayu-sama, it is a pleasure to see you again." Kagome bowed to the older leopard and his mate.

"Kagome-sama, you are as always a considerate host. Even if you choose the most unusual locations. Is this what I think it is?" Hideaki glanced around the village.

"Hai, this is an exterminator's village, but don't worry. I've been friends with them since they were founded by my friend Sango. Do you remember her?"

"That I do, and what a skilled fighter she was in our battle with Ryuutaisho. These are her descendents?"

"Hai. They were quite willing to host the taiyoukai that were so friendly with Rin and Sango."

"I thought you had lost your mind, Kagome-sama." Mayu smiled at some passing ningens, making them blush for staring at her. "However, it is a neutral location, since they will hold no loyalty to any of us. And who would think to look for us here?"

"No one sane." Hideaki smiled at his mate's reproving look. "My lords are just behind us, and should be arriving soon. They stopped to talk to the guard."

"Then I'll bring you in to your rooms. Merkamou is already here, by the way. According to the last note I got we can expect Akira tomorrow or the next day." Kagome lead the way into the headsman's house were the taiyoukai were staying.

"With that mate of hers." Hideaki flinched when Mayu hit him. "I mean, Isamu."

"One day will you will need to let that go, Hideaki." With a final glare, Mayu moved up to walk with Kagome and left Hideaki to trail along behind them. "Honestly, he can hold a grudge like few I have met."

"How about we go find Cho and let her know you've arrived?" 'Fabulous. They're still arriving and already they don't want to talk to each other. I give it two days before Merkamou asks me to join him for a drink and I say yes.' Kagome kept her best smile plastered in place. 'What was I thinking?'

----

Kagome stood on the wall around the outside of the village, enjoying the sunshine and watching some of the farmers tend to their crops. It had been such a long time since she had been with the ningens, and it felt odd. When someone knew they were going to live for centuries, or some said forever, they would look at things differently. Now that she was one of the long lived ones, she felt like she was not quite a ningen any more. 'It may be a good thing that I'm spending some time here. As easy as it is for me to forget, I'm not a youkai. This is what I'm supposed to be like, but I've watched generations pass. It's so weird!'

A group of three was coming down the road, gawking at the villagers that were gawking at them. 'Ah, Hideaki's lords. Mayu wouldn't have told them where they were going. I bet they think they're in the wrong place.'

Perfectly aware that they would be able to see and hear her easily, even at this distance, Kagome stretched up on her toes and waved her hands. "Hey, over here! Yes, you're in the right place! Come on over!"

The little group stopped dead, obviously staring at her. 'What? It's not that weird.'

One of them broke away, kicking up a dust storm as he raced towards her. 'No. That's impossible. It couldn't be.'

"Kagome! My woman!" Koga landed in front of the stunned miko, taking her hands. "It's been so long. They told me that you'd been killed!"

"Uh, hi, Koga-kun." Staring at those big blue eyes, Kagome suddenly felt like she was fifteen again. "No, I didn't die. I've been in the Western Lands."

"And now you can come with me to the North and be my woman."

"Oh, well, you see, there's a little problem with that."

"What problem? You'll just come with me and . . . "

Even Kagome did not see it coming. There was a streak of white, slamming into the wolf and tossing them both off of the wall and to the ground. "Sesshomaru, stop! He's an old friend!" Scrambling down the wall, she desperately tried to reach them before the wolf was shredded.

Koga kicked out, reflexes taking over as he was attacked. Barely moving to dodge the attack, Sesshomaru never released his captive. A swift punch to the side of Koga's head sent him staggering, give the taiyoukai a chance to draw Tokijin and slam the wolf to the ground.

Pinned to the ground, Koga looked up to see an enraged Lord of the Western Lands. "What the hell?"

"Do. Not. Touch. Her." The claws around the interloper's throat tightened. "She is mine."

"Nani? That's the ningen you took? I saw her first!"

'Holy Kami, he's dense.' Leaping the last couple of feet, Kagome ran to the pair. "Leave it, Sesshomaru!"

"You have no claim." The amber eyes were rapidly bleeding to red.

"I claimed her before she defeated Naraku. I was told she was dead." Koga's arguments faded away as his air supply was cut off.

"Your loss."

Feeling the rage pouring off of her mate, Kagome was scared to touch him. He may very well overwhelm her, and then she would be the one to kill Koga. "Sesshomaru, let me deal with him. It's all a moot point, right? He can't claim me, it's impossible."

"He will not touch you."

"He's known me for a long time, Sesshomaru. He didn't know."

"Are your senses defective, wolf?"

The enraged Koga could only produce some gurgles.

"I am not going to have all of my hard work ruined because you killed one of Hideaki's lords on the first day. Let him go."

The cold logic made Sesshomaru hesitate, glancing over at his mate. In that instant of indecision she grabbed onto his arm, forcing calm. Slowly the grip around Koga's throat loosened. "Do not touch her."

"I . . . "

Kagome cut Koga off as she pulled Sesshomaru away. "It doesn't matter that you knew me first. I'm bonded to Sesshomaru, and it really doesn't matter what arguments you have. You can't break this."

"The hell I can't!" Koga took a swing at Sesshomaru, only to bounce off of a barrier. "Now what?"

"He's my mate, and I'm not going to just stand here and watch you two fight! Now knock it off!"

"But, you're mine."

'Wow, I always knew he was thick, but I never figured out how thick.' Keeping a firm hand on Sesshomaru, Kagome let her eyes soften. "It's impossible, Koga. I can't be separated from him, and we haven't been apart for over two hundred years. And it won't do you any good to try and kill him, since it would probably kill me, too."

"He could not kill this Sesshomaru."

'Speaking of thick.' Kagome gave her mate a frustrated glare. "You knock it off, too. He's one of Hideaki's lords, and you can't just slaughter him for a misunderstanding."

'Misunderstanding? That wolf has tried to claim her. He touched her.' Sesshomaru could see Kagome go pale with the effort of keeping him under control. Concern for her brought control despite his other instincts. "He will live."

"Good. Arigato, Sesshomaru. Now, Koga. The rest of the lords are here, so I'm going to have Kumo show you where your rooms are and where Hideaki-sama is. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"No, you will not."

Kagome looked up at Sesshomaru, her grip on his arm tightening. "Do you want me to throw you through that wall? I am going to talk to him later."

"No, you will not."

The air crackled as Kagome's temper flared. Koga backed away, his eyes widening. 'I don't think I want to be anywhere near this.'

"I will be talking to my old friend later."

This new Kagome was rather frightening and sent Koga back even further. "I'm not going to do anything she doesn't want, Sesshomaru-sama."

Seeing the genuine fear in Koga's eyes, Sesshomaru had an excellent reason to smirk. His eyes moved back to his mate's and saw that she was very genuinely pissed. "We will discuss this later." 'I will not retreat in front of the wolf.'

"Fine." Kagome marched off to the gate, not particularly interested in reclimbing the wall. "I'm going to get Kumo, then I'm going to go find something for my head. I hope your enjoying the headache that you've given me!"

'Most enjoyable.' The feeling of a vise clamping down across his temples did not improve Sesshomaru's mood as he followed his mate.

Koga trailed along behind them, forgotten. 'Not at all how I thought this meeting would start. How should I have known that it was Kagome in the West all this time? I don't doubt her when she says they can't be separated, so no killing. That damn dog was pissed. Anyone else I'd fight, but Sesshomaru? That would be suicide. I guess this is better then thinking she's dead. A little bit, anyways. No, this is just about the worst possible situation. Ugh, and I get to deal with them for days. This is so much worse then dog-turd waving his sword every time I showed up.'

----

"Isamu."

"Hideaki."

Father and son exchanged cold glares as Isamu found his seat.

"Sesshomaru-sama."

"Akira-sama."

'Please, someone, anyone, grant me strength.' Kagome glared at her mate yet again. Akira and Isamu had just arrived with her advisor, bringing the count of attendees to twenty, including herself. Nami and her husband had also joined them for this meal, bringing the total count to twenty-two.

Seiji was relieved to see his mother and father arrive. At least he stood a chance of understanding them. The situation with Mizuki had his temper at short ends, and the steady presence of his mother was actually an improvement. Sitting with them, he still ended up facing the female that was causing his moods, and she did not look at all pleased with the situation. Especially since that also put Isamu in her direct line of sight.

"Mizuki-san."

"Isamu-san."

Merkamou was grinning at Kagome's expression, and it wasn't improving her mood much.

"Quit it."

"Quit what, Kagome-sama?" The big gold eyes looked so innocent and guiless.

Kagome really wanted to smack him. "You know what I mean. Quit it."

"I think you will need to explain what you are talking about, my lady."

Yuriko snorted behind her hand, trying to keep her laughter quiet.

"I'm talking about that stupid grin. Knock it off, or so help me I'm going to knock it off for you."

"Ah, Kagome-sama, I have so missed you." Isamu looked down the table. "I have hardly arrived and yet I find that you have not changed a bit."

"Don't start, cub."

"Really, don't get her started." Koga shook his head. "She's been in a bad mood all day."

Katsuro groaned and set his head in his hands. "He did not just say that."

The miko bristled. "What did you say, Koga?"

"Now, Koga-san, I don't think that was appropriate." Mayu sent a slightly reproving look to the lord.

"You didn't see her this morning."

"I did not want to bring him. It was your idea." Hideaki calmly sipped his tea and ignored the babbling around him.

"How was your trip, Akira-sama?" Cho smiled at her brother's mate.

"The trip was fine. It was the destination I had problems with." Isamu turned back to Kagome. "Are you insane?"

"You don't look like Akira-sama, so I don't think you're the one who's supposed to be answering." Shippou looked offended at the rude leopard.

"What did you say, kitsune?" Isamu was glaring now.

"Leave him out of this." Merkamou dropped his grin when Isamu threatened one of his lords.

"He was rude."

Mizuki's eyes came up. "And you are one to talk."

"For someone that is coming to live in the East, you are treading on thin ice, hanyou." Isamu did not much care for the cold expression that was facing him.

"That fate is not certain, Isamu." Under the table Mizuki let her claws sink into the wood.

"Nani?" Akira glanced at Seiji. "What has gone wrong?"

"Do not ask." Shaking his head, Seiji was suddenly wishing that his cup had something stronger then tea.

"If it is not working out, then just mate him to Yuriko-san. Then you will still have your alliance, since the South and the West are so close." Mayu looked rather bored with the whole thing.

Akira turned and looked at Yuriko, who was suddenly quite interested in the conversation on the other end of the table. "Nani?"

Still not looking at any of the concerned parties, Mayu continued. "An alliance with the South would be very similar to an alliance with the West."

Seeing the opportunity to really rankle her aunt, Yuriko pounced. "Fine with me."

"Yuriko." Akane hissed at her neighbor. "Do not make things worse."

"How? She does not want him."

"This is no one's concern by mine and Mizuki's." In his mind Seiji was already thinking of places to look for some sake after the meal was over.

"The hell it isn't!" Isamu was still staring at Mizuki.

"Oh, damn. This is just coming apart!" Glancing around, Katsuro watched as the table dissolved into squabbling.

"Hey, Katsuro-san." Cho dropped her voice to a whisper. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Absolutely."

"Come on."

The young couple slipped out of the room without a challenge, since everyone was too busy arguing to even notice them. Only one pair of blue eyes followed their departure.

----

"Your mother is insane." Cho leaned against the outside of the house, rubbing her temples. "They will never agree to anything, just to be spiteful to each other."

"She could. Mama is pretty amazing that way. Heck, she got them to all come here, and that was supposed to be impossible." Relieved to be away from the noise, Katsuro leaned against the wall next to Cho.

"I will admit that she can be amazing, but this is beyond that. This is in need of a miracle." Shoving off from the wall, Cho started to stroll away. "I can still hear them."

"Come on. Out by the edge of the village we won't be able to hear them anymore. We'll just have to come back before they get worried about us."

"They will be at this all night. No one will miss us."

They walked through the center of the village, listening to the inhabitants settle in for the night. The stars were shining brightly, and Katsuro could feel his mood lifting. "Hey Cho-san, has Ki-chan talked to you about Seiji?"

Chuckling, Cho turned so that she was walking backwards, facing Katsuro. "So you see something as well."

"The whole trying to kill each other but not being able to stay away from each other thing is hard to not notice. What are we going to do with them?"

"There is not much we can do. I believe that she will go with him to the East."

"But she's going to kill him! Or he's going to kill her! Either way, it's not a particularly good idea. You heard them, Yuriko is another option, and I know she was staring at Seiji the first night she met him."

"I do not think Seiji will agree." Turning back around, Cho continued to walk towards the edge of the village. "Yuriko does not strike me as a match for him."

"It could still be better then Ki-chan." Stopping at the wall, Katsuro turned to Cho. "I'm really worried about her. I haven't been this worried about her in a while, but there is something about him that just makes her lose control. She would still go with him for the position, and because she thinks that father wants her to."

"And I have never seen Seiji lose control, but from what I have heard it happens regularly with Mizuki. But . . . "

"What, Cho-san?"

"What if that works for them? With everyone else they are controlled and distant. When they are together they are more finally acting like they are alive."

"That's a great theory, right up until they kill each other."

"Neither of them is dead yet, and they have had opportunities."

Memories of Seiji keeping Mizuki's secret filtered through Katsuro's mind. "True. But I'm still worried about her. This could be so dangerous."

Laughing, Cho leaned against the village wall. "Mizuki can take care of herself."

"No, Ki-chan takes care of everyone else. I take care of her."

"You really are very sweet, Katsuro-san."

'Of course I'm blushing. Great.' "Well, someone has to do it. All I do is help her out, since she's a Commander and I'm the heir. She leads while I just kind of . . . wait. But I don't want to be the Lord, since that would mean father was gone. It's just so messed up. I still think Ki-chan should have been the heir. She would be much better at it."

"You are selling yourself short, Katsuro-san." Cho reached out to snag his sleeve and pull him in closer. "You will be a great Lord. Sesshomaru-sama should be thankful that his son is so reluctant to take up the position. Many sons prefer to move things along if possible."

"I could never do that to father." Slowly being drawn closer to Cho, Katsuro's pulse jumped. 'What is she up to?'

"Loyal, sweet, and a hopeless romantic. Do you have any flaws, Katsuro-san?"

"Are you kidding? This is from the female that has thrown mud on me and tackled me? I'm far from perfect, Cho-san."

"Especially right now. Right now I would almost call you dense."

There was a blank stare. "Huh?"

Grabbing his other sleeve, Cho pulled him up against her. "Is this clear enough for you?"

Realizing where he was and what she had done, Katsuro tried to not panic. 'Okay, this is a good thing. You wanted to be close to her. Don't panic.' One of his hands reached up to touch the silver and black hair that was shinning in the dim light of the moon.

The blue topaz eyes were locked on his, a small smile pulling at her lips. "Am I too subtle for you?"

"I think I've got it." Returning her smile, Katsuro brushed his thumb across her cheek.

"No, you do not." Cho's hand slid up Katsuro's arm and to the back of his head, pulling him down to her lips.

After a second of shock, Katsuro decided to just go with it. 'She's obviously not going to take no for an answer, and I would never refuse a lady.'

The kiss deepened, Cho pressing against him while still holding his sleeves. Katsuro savored the taste of her, his mind reeling as fantasy became reality. They only broke apart when they both needed to breathe. Somehow his hands had slid around her waist, but he had no memories of that.

Slightly flushed, the leopard looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Arigato, Katsuro-kun."

"For what?"

"I have never been kissed before."

Katsuro blinked. 'Hang on a minute, I know she had a mate. . . '

"I know what you are thinking. No, he never kissed me."

"That's kind of . . . sad." Brushing his fingers against her hair again, Katsuro watched her expression. "Why wouldn't he?"

"I guess we never saw each other that way. I am glad, though. I think it was better this way, with you."

"So you won't be running to your father and yelling about me stealing your honor?"

Cho giggled. "Absolutely not. I may not have kissed him, but he was my mate. It will take much worse then this before I will start yelling about my honor."

Even in the moonlight Cho could see Katsuro's blush.

"That is still adorable."

'I think my face is on fire.' "We should head back though, or they're going to send out a search party. We didn't tell anyone where we were going."

"True. I do have parents again, and they will be expecting me to behave in an honorable and organized way. However, I believe I am out of practice."

Grabbing Cho's hand, Katsuro playfully tugged her along behind him. "I'm not in the mood to deal with any of our parents. They're bound to be in a bad mood after tonight."

"Again, true. We shall return and be the perfect offspring that we usually are."

"Perfect? Mama will be proud that I came back without her sending Ki-chan to hunt me down."

"Then at least I must behave as I usually do, so that father does not become overly interested in what I am doing."

"So, basically, we have to get back before Papa starts watching your every move."

"Hai."

"You could've just said it that way."

Cho caught a lock of his hair and pulled. "I speak in a proper way, and you would do well to learn some of my skills."

Katsuro succeeded in capturing her arms and pinning them to her sides. "Only if you can learn to track as well as me."

"Is that a genuine offer, Katsuro-kun? You will work on your speech if I practice tracking?"

'Trapped. Damn.' "Sure. Why not? Got nothin' better to do."

Flinching at his grammar, Cho wiggled free and continued up to the headsman's house. "I think I have the tougher end of this arrangement."

"It was your idea."

----

'He looks different. I wonder if that's because I've changed or because he's finished growing up now. It has been two hundred years, after all. He seems calmer. Not much, but it's better. At least he was able to be in the same room with Sesshomaru without blood shed. That's showing more maturity. Or maybe it's survival instinct. Hmm.' Kagome looked up the youkai that was sitting quietly under the stars. "Hey, Koga."

The blue eyes whipped down to where the little miko stood, smiling up at him. "Yo, Kagome. Kagome-sama. What am I supposed to call you, anyways?"

"Depends on who's around. Hideaki-sama and Mayu-sama will get mad if you don't call me sama, and Sesshomaru would attack you again. But I'm so used to being Kagome with you, or . . . "

"Kagome-chan." The blue eyes darkened. "I thought you were dead. What happened to dog-turd?"

"He died." Kagome had no interest in going over that story again. "Can I join you?"

"Is your beloved mate going to kill me?"

"I can stop him." Climbing up onto the roof, Kagome sat down next to Koga. "How have things been with you?"

"Same as always. It took a long time to rebuild my pack, but it's getting there."

"How are Hakkaku and Ginta?"

"Great! Ginta's mate just had their first litter, and Hakkaku has had two litters already with a third supposed to be on the way."

"When you go back make sure to tell them I said hi."

"Sure, Kagome." Koga looked over to her. "Are you sure there's no way?"

"Absolutely. Trust me. We've done a lot of research, and this is a 'to the death' kind of a deal."

"He's taking good care of you, right?"

"Of course." Nudging Koga with an elbow, she gave him one of her famous smiles. "I'm sure it's not as good as what you would have done, but I'll survive."

"Damn right. Dogs don't know anything about how to take care of their women."

"And what about you? You thought I was dead, so what about your woman?"

Shrugging, Koga looked back up to the night sky. "I've been busy, and I haven't seen anything like you. You're a hard act to follow, Kagome."

Kagome laughed. "I'm flattered. But, I think you need to find some female and make her the luckiest in Japan."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get around to it. Got any suggestions?"

"Let me think about it. You never know."

"She won't be you, but I'll survive."

----

A/N: I've seen two spellings of Koga's name, so I just picked one. No fair yelling at me on my spelling for this one. Yell at me for the other mistakes. :-)


	81. Negotiations

A/N: I hate it when my muse is moody. Well, doesn't matter. We were able to come to an understanding, finally, and make some progress again. Only one chapter today, but the other one is just about done, so it should be up tomorrow. Yeah! Thanks for sticking it out. I'm so used to my old schedule, I feel like such a slacker! Must be the hot weather cooking my brain.

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The dull roar coming from the great room was enough to make even Kagome flinch. "I'm having second thoughts."

"Much too late for that, miko." Standing next to her by the closed door, Sesshomaru could feel anxiety rolling off of his mate. He set a hand on her arm, letting her borrow some of his icy deamenor.

"Arigato, jo-chan. I think I'm ready now."

Bracing himself against the racket, Sesshomaru slid the door open.

"Take that back!"

"It is none of your concern, kitsune."

"I'm a Southern Lord, and I'm not going to sit here and listen to this!"

Shippou was nose to nose with Isamu, snarling. Merkamou was looking very annoyed with the whole thing, but was not pulling Shippou off.

"Papa, make him stop!" Yuriko waded in, pushing Shippou behind her. "Seiji-san, do something about your father."

"I am not involved." Seiji was leaning against a wall on the opposite side of the room from Mizuki. "It is mother's position to control father."

"Isamu."

Akira's voice was quiet and controlled, barely noticeable in the din, but Isamu broke away and returned to her side without another word.

Katsuro leaned over to his sister. "Hey Ki-chan, think you'll be able to train Seiji that well?"

There was a loud thud as the heir to the West ate floor.

"Okay, can everyone sit down?" Unlike Akira, Kagome's voice got no reaction whatsoever. All of the attendees had broken into groups around the four lords and only seemed interested in fighting. Even Cho had moved to stand with her parents instead of Mizuki and Katsuro.

"Please? So we can get started?" Kagome looked around helplessly. "Sesshomaru."

"Hai."

Tokijin flashed into existence, catching everyone's attention. "Silence."

All four groups sat down and shut up.

"Great, thanks. You all know why I asked you to come here."

"We are supposed to be discussing the future." Mayu was already looking bored.

"Hai. Specifically, the way things are changing with the ningens."

"Other then the fact that they breed like vermin, what else has changed?" Ignoring some of the dark looks, Isamu glared at Kagome.

"The weapons are becoming much too effective for my tastes." Merkamou rubbed at his temples. "I have lost an entire unit to them."

"As have I." Keeping her gaze on the far wall, Mizuki tried to avoid looking shamed. "I do not take losing a unit of the Lady's guard lightly."

"Perhaps you need more than a powerful father to call yourself a Commander."

Several glares were directed at Hideaki's advisor.

"Be silent." Katsuro's hand had dropped to his hilt.

"If she is losing to ningens, then she has no business commanding youkai." The advisor was blind to the growing threat around him.

"Now you are insulting Merkamou-sama as well." Akane's comment made Shippou and Yuriko bristle at the advisor.

"We have had our own problems with the ningens and they have become something more than an annoyance to be ignored." Akira cast her eyes to the advisor. "Will you insult me now?"

Seeing the protective males on either side of the dragon, the advisor shook his head.

"Well, what do you suggest, Kagome? Wipe them all out now?" Koga gave her a big grin. When Sesshomaru growled the smile slipped a bit. "I mean Kagome-sama."

Kagome blanched. "No, we aren't going to wipe them all out. Even if I wanted to, which I don't, that would be impossible. There are less and less youkai while there's more and more ningens. It takes a hundred years or more for a taiyoukai to starting having children, while ningens can do it at fourteen or so. They are going to beat us by pure numbers and weapons."

"So you have already given up." Hideaki crossed his arms. "You want us to bow down to these ningens."

"No. I want everyone to disappear."

There was no sound as all eyes stared at the lone ningen in the room.

"Nani?" Merkamou tipped his head to the side, very much like his hawk form.

Calm confidence came from a subtle brush by Sesshomaru, holding Kagome's nervousness at bay. "Disappear. Let the ningens forget that the youkai ever existed. One or two generations and you will be nothing more then bed time stories told to children."

"And how would we do this?"

'At least Akira's keeping an open mind, because I think Isamu and Seiji want to walk out right now.' "You hide. Don't let the ningens see you, especially doing anything special. It's easier then you would think, once everyone thinks that you're just legends. I could cover up Katsuro's ears and throw him in with ningens and they would never guess. As long as he's behaving himself, that is."

Katsuro mumbled under his breath. "I always behave myself."

"I think I'd rather take over." Koga was still smiling. "I wouldn't eat them, since that would upset Kagome-sama, but it would be so much more fun then hiding."

Kagome couldn't help but smile back. "Don't help, Koga-kun. Oh, uh, Koga-san."

"Mama?" Katsuro's eyes were the size of plates.

Ignoring her mate's growls, the miko waved her son off. "Later, later. Like I said, you can't get them all, and the weapons are going to keep getting better. They won't think of you as an enemy in just fifty years or so."

"No." Seiji stood up. "I will not pretend to be a ningen just to avoid a fight. If they want to try killing me, then they can try."

"I agree with Seiji-sama. They cannot defeat us!" Hideaki's advisor also went to his feet. "This is what comes from mating ningens!"

"Don't talk about my mother like that!" Katsuro jumped up, hand already on his hilt.

"Shetai, enough." Mizuki stood and set a hand on her brother's arm.

"Yes, obey your sister. You can be as trained as Isamu-sama and Sesshomaru-sama."

Isamu jumped to his feet, his hand on his own hilt. "Shut up."

There was a low growl from the Lord of the West, and Kagome hastily slapped her hand on his arm to keep him from slaughtering the masses. "Katsuro, Mizuki, enough."

Her son took his hand off of his weapon.

"We should excuse the ningen from the room. She is too biased." Akira's advisor turned cold eyes on Kagome. "No offense intended, my lady."

"No." Merkamou stared at the subordinate until he looked away. "The Lady of the West stays."

"We already know about your bias towards the ningens, Merkamou-sama."

"I can't work like this." Kagome joined the rest in jumping to her feet. "Hideaki, Akira, Merkamou, and Sesshomaru stay. Everyone else, out! Now!"

There was a deafening roar of protest, making the miko clamp her hands over her ears. "Out!"

Tokijin slammed through the middle of the table.

The group froze for an instant before making their way out.

After the last of the excused attendees left, Kagome stuck her head out the door. "I will burn the ears off of anyone that tries to eavesdrop!"

Slamming the door shut, Kagome returned to her spot. "Much better."

"Kagome-sama, you must admit that this is an incredible request with no real foundation." Akira moved down the table to sit near Kagome.

Hideaki also moved down next to Merkamou. "I must agree, Kagome-sama. How could we ask everyone to go into hiding for no reason?"

Kagome looked to Sesshomaru, holding a silent conversation. He gave a slight nod.

"This doesn't leave the room. Understand?" Kagome glanced around. "You have to swear."

"And any that tries to take or harm my mate will wish I killed them." Sesshomaru's cold stare made everyone lean slightly away.

"My loyalty to Kagome-sama has never been in question. I swear." Merkamou looked to Akira.

"I trust Kagome-sama. I swear."

"And I have no reason to betray the family that has come to my aid. I also swear." Hideaki suddenly smiled. "I can see why you excused the rest. I can actually hear you now."

"You guys insisted. I was only looking for you four." Smiling herself, Kagome settled in. "This is a long, crazy story, but its all true. Just be patient and let me get to the end. Then I can answer all of your questions."

"I do love a good story." Merkamou set his chin in his hand. "Please go on, Kagome-sama."

----

"This is your fault!"

"You sound like you're thirty." Katusuro glared at Hideaki's advisor. "Everyone was yelling, so everyone got thrown out. You were yelling, too."

"She had no business throwing me out. I'm the Lord of the East!" Isamu glared as his mother snorted at him.

"Then try acting like it, cub, and maybe Kagome-sama will let you stay with the others next time." Mayu set off towards her rooms, snagging Akane for company as she went. "I for one am relieved and will enjoy my freedom."

"My own mother."

"She has a point." Mizuki trailed her claws over Shou's sleeping form. "You were yelling more then any other."

"Bitch."

Isamu's swing was aimed for Mizuki's temple, but his fist was caught in a tight grip. The now awake dragon hissed at him as the sapphire eyes bored into his.

"Most dishonorable to strike without warning or true provocation." Releasing the fist, Mizuki turned away.

Eyes flashing, Isamu moved to attack again. When he landed on his back he was shocked to find his own son over top of him, growling.

Mizuki was frozen, watching as father and son had a silent battle of wills. When Isamu quit struggling his son let him up. Glancing from Seiji to Mizuki and back again, he walked away.

"This is fun." Katsuro could not take the angry group of lords and advisors any more. "Enough is enough. Scatter. Go on, go find something to do."

When the group just stared at him, Katsuro let his gaze cool to one his sister could be proud of. "I meant now."

Breaking into small huddles, the dismissed group drifted away, leaving the youngest attendees together. Mizuki and Seiji were still watching each other, unmoving.

"Hey, Ki-chan, want to go hunting? It's only fair, since so many of us showed up. We should help the villagers out."

Breaking free with a shake of her head, Mizuki looked to her brother. "An excellent suggestion, shetai."

"Then we're coming, too." Shippou tugged Yuriko along with him. I haven't been this mad in ages!"

"What was that, anyways?" Katsuro moved next to his sister as she convinced Shou that he needed some exercise.

"He insulted Merkamou-sama." Shippou was yanked back by Yuriko while she whistled for Ah-Un. "I may spend a lot of time in the West, but he's still my Lord, not Sesshomaru."

"Hey, Cho-san, want to come with us?"

Cho blinked at her companions. "Hunting. You wish for me to go hunting with you."

"We can stay here with the arguing old folks or we can go catch some dinner. Look at it this way, you could pick what we have for the entrée tonight."

Between Katsuro's puppy eyes and Mizuki's silent request, Cho could not refuse. "I will ride on Shou, no more."

"Perfect!" Katsuro swung up behind his sister, offering a hand to the leopard. There was a faint blush as she took his hand and swung up behind him.

"Shetai." Mizuki looked back at Katsuro, disapproving.

"It is fine, Mizuki." Cho set one hand at Katsuro's waist for balance.

If looks could kill, Katsuro would have been mortally wounded by the kitsune's gaze.

'Oh, fabulous. Sooner or later I have to tell him she kissed me. That's going to be fun.' Katsuro spotted Seiji heading away from them. "Seiji-san! You said you enjoy hunting!"

The dragon turned and looked back at them.

"Shetai!" Mizuki hissed at her brother.

"I just know you want to go kill things right now."

"Hai." Seiji changed course to join them.

Mizuki was not at all amused by the last addition. 'I must remember to make shetai pay for this later.'

The hunting party took to the air, leaving the village far behind.

----

"So it runs through metal strings, and it makes things move or glow. If you touch it you get a shock, like the merlin's katanas. Are you positive that they do not have spell casters locked away somewhere to produce this power?"

"Merkamou, move past the electricity thing already!" Kagome banged on the table. "I'm not giving anything else away!"

"It is very easily explained if you have the right spells and enough casters." Gazing up at the ceiling, Merkamou's mind ran through scenarios.

"I give up. Akira-sama, what are you thinking?"

"Mostly that it is a good thing I have known you for two hundred years, or I would completely disregard this as insanity. Or a ploy to move the youkai out of the way for the ningens." Akira sighed and slumped down, losing her usually perfect presentation and dropping her chin into her hand. "Ah, Kagome, what can we do with this information? We cannot tell them that you have seen the future, and they will not blindly obey such an order."

"I do not think I will be able to convince very many to go into hiding without a real reason." Hideaki was also leaning on the table, the ice blue eyes staring into the distance as he ran through strategies.

"I know, I know." Kagome set her forehead on her arms, flat on the table. Muffled by the wood, her voice held quite a bit of frustration. "I had to tell you guys, so that you can be safe if nothing else. I can't risk all of you being killed! No matter what, the Western court is going to go underground."

"Have you considered the possibility of changing the future?" Akira straightened as the thought occurred to her. "It has not happened yet, so why not change it?"

"I had this conversation with myself, and got a headache from it." Grimacing, Kagome lifted her head. "Maybe the future isn't written yet. Or maybe this is exactly what happened, and it's all pointless and we are all going to be destroyed anyways. Or you'll change the future and I'll go insane. Or disappear. Or maybe we won't even remember that I was from the future. It's just a big guessing game."

Hideaki actually rolled his eyes. "I do not play guessing games. We know that the ningens are becoming quite numerous and that they are developing effective weapons. These are facts and they cannot be changed. Kagome-sama's future may or may not be ours, but I would guess that it is the end result from what we know. We must decide what to do with the threat she has warned us about."

"Sesshomaru-sama, what do you think of all this?" Merkamou pulled the silent taiyoukai back into the conversation.

"I do not wish to hide, but I will not place pride ahead of the safety of my pack." Sesshomaru and Kagome shared a glance. "We will disappear until the ningens have forgotten us."

"I agree. The Southern court is also going to become much more difficult to find."

"They will call you cowards for hiding from ningens. Your positions will be at risk." There was genuine concern in Hideaki's eyes as he looked to his two peers.

"I have learned that no matter what you decide, someone will think you are a fool. Just because I will be difficult for ningens to find does not mean that the youkai will be free of my influence." Heaving a sigh, Merkamou gave a self deprecating smile. "I may be a fool, but I am still the most powerful fool in the South."

Kagome broke down laughing. "All hail the great Fool of the South."

"We have been saying that for centuries, Kagome-sama." Akira smirked at Merkamou's expression.

Merkamou huffed. "I get enough of this from my daughter! I do not need the same treatment from my fellow Lords and Ladies."

"Well, Akira-sama? What will you do?" The miko could see the reluctance in Akira's eyes.

"I do not know, Kagome-sama. To retreat without even attempting to fight . . . " Gazing at her friend, Akira shrugged. "It is a difficult request."

"I agree with Akira-sama. The threat is real, and I thank Kagome-sama for her warning. However, I do not know if disappearing is the only answer. I cannot believe that the future is written in stone." Hideaki gave Kagome an exasperated look. "And I cannot consult with anyone on this matter, since I am sworn to secrecy."

"It was necessary." There was no threat in Sesshomaru's voice, just a quiet statement of fact.

"Hai, and I understand that. But if I cannot convince Mayu then the whole project is doomed before it starts."

"I have full faith in your abilities. Just tell her that I came into some information, and I swore you to secrecy. She'll be annoyed, but she'll probably accept it." Pinching the bridge of her nose, Kagome glanced around the room. "I think we need to get out of this room anyways. Go, think. Talk to whoever, just don't let them know about me. We'll finish this up tomorrow."

----

"Do you see that?"

Mizuki turned her head, looking for whatever had caught Katsuro's attention. Off in the distance was a puff of dust. "What is it, shetai?"

"I'm not sure, but it's big. Cho-san, can you see anything?"

The leopard squinted into the distance. "I cannot tell. Yuriko-san may be able to see it, though."

Anxiety settled in Katsuro's gut. "Good point. Hey Shou, we need to get Yuriko. And I think we should hurry."

"What are you thinking, shetai?" Mizuki grabbed onto a hunk of the dragon's mane as he spun and shot across the sky.

"What if that is not one big thing, but lots and lots of little things?"

"An army."

"Hai."

"It cannot be. I have scouts looking for any threats in the area. I would have been told before they got this close. And how could they have found us so quickly? The Ladies told no one where they were going."

Hanging onto his sister for dear life, Katsuro kept his focus despite Cho pressing against his back as they raced towards Yuriko. "I'll worry about how later. Right now I want to know if I'm seeing things, or if there is an army marching around in the area. Awfully big coincidence."

Shou roared as Ah-Un came into sight, calling the other dragon in.

"We can't hunt like this!" Shippou started yelling as soon as they came within earshot. "Anything in the area's hiding now because of that roar!"

"Shut it, Shippou. Yuriko, do you see anything in the distance?" Katsuro ignored the faces Shippou was making at him.

"Up, Ah-Un." Yuriko sent the dragon into a steep climb as she looked to the horizon, making Shippou squeak and grab onto her. They stopped and hovered before diving back down. "An army, and it looks like ningens."

"A ningen army? I did not know that there was a ningen war going on nearby." Cho glanced to the horizon again.

"I don't like this, Ki-chan. It's too much of a coincidence." The anxiety that had settled in Katusuro's gut was now spreading. "We should go back and tell father."

Mizuki stared at the cloud on the horizon. 'It is most likely nothing, but shetai is quite anxious about this. He has excellent instincts on these matters. It is better to be prepared.' "Shou, we must return."

"What about Seiji-san?" Yuriko glanced around. "He should know that we are returning early."

Desperately wishing she could just ditch the dragon, Mizuki hesitated. After he had attacked his own father to protect her, the least she could do was tell him that they were returning early. "Yes, he should be told."

"I can tell him."

The eager smile that Yuriko was wearing did nothing for Mizuki's mood. "Shou is faster. Return to the village, Yuriko. I will retrieve the dragon and meet you there."

"As you wish, Auntie. Personally, I would not let a specimen like that out of my sights, but it must not matter to you since he is not your intended." Ignoring Shippou's hissed comments, Yuriko spun Ah-Un around and took off.

"Your niece does know how to find a chink in a suit of armor." Cho was shaking her head. "I believe Seiji-san was to the south of us."

"She found nothing. Shou, we must find Seiji." Leaning into the wind, Mizuki tried to ignore the comments coming from behind her. 'Damn dragon, and now I must find him before I can return to my duties.'

Shou put all of his incredible speed into the hunt, feeling the anxiety rolling off his riders. Within seconds he had caught scent of his prey and was streaking towards it. The dragon was not in the sky anymore, but instead had moved to the ground and his usual form to find prey in amongst the trees.

As Shou dropped Mizuki used a move borrowed from Yuriko. She landed in a crouch on the forest floor, he ears and eyes already searching for the dragon.

"I will not make much progress like this."

'Of course. Right behind me.' Standing up smoothly, Mizuki turned to face Seiji. "We are returning to the village. We have spotted a ningen army in the area."

"And this concerns us?" Seiji moved from his hiding place to stand just in front of Mizuki.

Refusing to take a step back, Mizuki kept her gaze steady. "It is too much of a coincidence to ignore. You can choose to stay here if you prefer, but we are returning."

"Your concern for me is touching." Seeing the flash of heat in the eyes in front of him, Seiji had to fight not to smile.

"I am letting you know our plans. I must return now."

"And I shall join you." Seiji took another step closer, bringing him to within a hand's span of touching her. "I would hate for the ningens to get you."

Mizuki's hand clenched into a fist, images of smashing the arrogant nose into a pile of mush flashing through her mind.

"Ki-chan, quit flirting so we can go already!"

'Must remember, kill shetai.' Mizuki spun away from the dragon as Shou dropped to the ground. Ignoring her brother's looks she jumped on and grabbed onto the mane. There was another incredible burst of speed, and Shou was on his way to the village at a blinding pace.

Seiji smirked at the rapidly disappearing dragon. 'I really should return to the village to see what all of the excitement is about. No matter what else they may say about her, she has never been called an alarmist.' Transforming, Seiji chased after the blur that was Shou and his passengers.

----

"Father, we have a problem."

Sesshomaru and the rest of the group looked up when Katsuro and Cho bolted into the room. They had just finished talking to Kagome and had been leaving when the door had suddenly slammed open.

"What is it, Katsuro?" Kagome moved over to peer at her son.

"There's a ningen army in the area, and we don't know anything about a ningen war around her. It's too much of a coincidence."

Merkamou narrowed his eyes. "And where are they?"

"About a day's march away." Katsuro looked to his father. "Ki-chan is talking to Nami-san right now to see what she knows."

Sesshomaru gave a sharp nod, walking briskly from the room and tracking down his daughter.

"How many?" Hideaki looked curious, nothing more.

"It was big, in the thousands." Katsuro glanced to Cho, who shrugged. "Yuriko could see them, but all we saw was the cloud of dust."

Kagome felt a surge of annoyance. "I think your father just found Mizuki. I'm going to go find them and figure out what they're doing."

"I am coming with you, Kagome." Merkamou fell into step with his friend as they hurried from the room.

"And where were you when you saw this army?" Hideaki stared at Katsuro, moving in closer.

Not sure why Cho had suddenly stiffened, Katsuro rattled on. "We were out past the village. It's hard to tell the distance with Shou, but I'm sure Ki-chan would know. We didn't want to hunt very close to the village."

"So you and my daughter were out hunting."

Realization dawned on Katsuro. 'Oh, crap, this is Cho's father!' "Along with Ki-chan, Yuriko, Shippou, and Seiji. My lord."

With a final stare, Hideaki left the room.

Katsuro practically melted. "I thought he was going to tear my head off for a second there!"

"Not likely." Akira gave a small smile as she walked past them. "He would not risk such a match for his youngest."

Jaw hanging down, Katsuro watched the dragon walk out of the room. "Since when have I been that obvious?"

Cho just shrugged. "I am simply glad that he did not pull your head from your shoulders. And now what shall we do, Katsuro-kun?"

'I like it when she calls me that.' Ignoring the faint blush he just knew was showing, Katsuro shrugged back. "I should catch up with father and see what is going on."

"Then I will return to my mother and tell her about our discovery. She will be most interested."

Brushing his lips across Cho's cheek, Katsuro gave her a quick smile before bolting down the hall after his insane family.

Her hand pressed against her cheek, Cho stared after him for a long moment before turning to find her mother.

----

"No, there is no conflict in the area." Nami nodded to one of her scouts, who bowed himself out. "I had heard a report that there was an army in the area, but we thought they were heading north. They are too close for it to make any sense."

Mizuki turned to the two Captains she had brought. "Lock down the village. Bring all of the villagers and supplies inside, and bring all of the guard in to watch the walls. Everyone is a threat now, ningen or youkai. No one comes inside. Understood?"

"Hai, Commander." The Captains hustled out.

"You think they are coming here." Nami looked over to the white haired hanyou. 'She looks younger then me, but I know she has been alive for hundreds of years.'

"Hai. The question is why."

"We will not worry about that now." Sesshomaru looked to his daughter. "How far?"

"A day, maybe more."

"No time for reinforcements."

"Hai."

"Hn." Seeing his son come hurrying into the room, Sesshomaru nodded to his daughter and walked out. "Katsuro."

"Hai, father." Changing directions, he ran back out of the room.

"What's the plan, Mizuki-chan?" Kagome paced restlessly. "I don't know how they caught up with us so quickly, or why a huge group of ningens are coming here anyways. Are they from the south? Did they follow you, Merkamou?"

"I do not think so." Merkamou tapped his claws against a table. "I have been keeping a close eye on the ningens in my lands, and I have not seen anything to indicate an army of that size. A smaller force was spotted, but nothing of this size."

"As shetai said, I will worry about the how later. Now I will deal with what is coming. We have twenty youkai and hanyou here, along with the guard. It will be close."

"There are also the exterminators." Nami looked over to Mizuki. "We can cause significant damage."

"I will not ask you to fight. Your village is already at risk because of us, I will not ask you to risk your lives as well."

"We will protect our village. Kagome-chan and Yuriko-chan are already under this village's protection, and we would hate to see anything happen to Merkamou-sama. We will fight."

Bowing slightly, Mizuki felt genuine relief. "Arigato, Nami-san."

"So, we have 20 fighters from the meeting, the guard of about fifty, and about one hundred from the exterminators. The ningens have a couple thousand. I think this could be more then close, Mizuki-chan." Kagome rubbed at her temples. "Do we need to consider retreating?"

"I will not abandon the village to this army. They may very well burn it to the ground when they discover we are not here. Retreat is not an option. I must go and see to the defenses." Mizuki bowed herself out.

----

"And what are our orders, my lord?"

"You have two objectives, and I do not care how they are carried out. Kill Akira, and capture the miko alive. Any other destruction you can cause will be rewarded."

"Hai, my lord."

----


	82. Outnumbered

A/N: Hi again! Hee hee hee hee. The giggling should give me away. GPPR has struck again, this time she's done 'that dragon'. http / robotech. neocamera. com/ fa-inu 04. html Remove the spaces and enjoy!

Just couldn't wait, so here's the next chapter. It's a little short, but it just worked this way. Now I want to hear who you guys think the villain is! Always Smiling thinks she's got it. She may, at that. I can't really tell. Anyways, enjoy the violence!

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"Sesshomaru?"

"Hai?"

"Am I going crazy, or are there some youkai mixed in there?"

The gold eyes slanted over to his mate. 'I will not comment on her sanity.' "I do sense youkai."

"Why would youkai fight alongside ningens?"

"I do not know."

Kagome turned to the other Lords and Ladies that had gathered on the wall to look out at the gathered force. "Any guesses?"

"None, Kagome-sama." Hideaki let his eyes sweep over the force that was arrayed against them. "It does make our position more perilous, however."

"Just what we need. More peril." Heart pounding in her chest, the miko stared at the dark mass spread out across the land.

"The youkai arrived last night." Nami climbed up next to Kagome, giving her armor a last tug. "They just slipped in with the other forces."

A small group of riders was coming towards them, four ningens and what appeared to be a youkai.

"And what do you want?" In her temper, Kagome just could not control herself enough to not yell at the approaching group. The gathered taiyoukai stared at her while Merkamou struggled to stop laughing.

"Turn the Ladies over to us, and you will live."

The ningen's words were not at all expected. Akira, Mayu, and Kagome stared at each other blankly. "Nani?"

All of the Lords snarled at the ridiculous demand. Hideaki shoved Mayu behind him, his usually calm face showing his rage. His mate actually blushed, holding onto the back of his clothing as he unsheathed his sword. She shrugged at Kagome, who was giggling at her expression.

"You are a couple hundred years too late to collect the Lady of the South, baka." Merkamou gave them a mocking smile even as he dug his talons into the wood of the wall. "Your request is impossible."

"Then we will accept your daughter as a substitute." The small group had stopped beneath the wall, close enough to be heard but far enough away to give them warning of an attack.

"By all means, if you are foolish enough to want me." Yuriko set her hands on the edge of the wall, preparing to vault down.

Merkamou snagged his daughter by the waist and pulled her back. "Enough, little one."

Even with her feet not quite touching the ground, the little hawk managed to look indignant. "They wish for me to come down. It would be rude to refuse them."

"You will not touch any of them." Sesshomaru was gazing down at the little group, trying to come up with a reason for their demand.

"You are outnumbered. Send the Ladies out or we will destroy you!" The youkai in the group was taking his turn to yell.

"Never!" Isamu also had his sword out, staying between Akira and the threat.

"It isn't going to happen, okay? Just forget it!" Kagome yelled back down, already dismissing them from her mind. "They obviously aren't serious. I think they're going to attack no matter what."

"Most likely." Mizuki jumped up to the top of the wall, joining her parents. We are as prepared as we will every be."

"Good thing, because I think I ticked them off that time."

The group had turned and ridden back to the army, which looked like it was preparing to attack.

Since negotiating did not seem to be an option anymore, the taiyoukai, hanyou, exterminators, and one miko gathered in the center of the village to finish preparations.

"Well? Are we fighting?" Katsuro looked up from the paper where he and an exterminator were drawing little lines and symbols.

"Of course, shetai. You do not think they came just for show, do you?" Mizuki looked over his shoulder. "My concern is what weapons they have brought with them."

"We will find out soon enough." The Captain was carefully adjusting his armor with Kumo's assistance. "What did I tell you about this, miko?"

"I didn't do it!" Kagome threw her hands in the air. "This one is not my fault!"

"Ah, well. Retirement was dull. I have one more battle left in this body."

Mayu was taking a set of armor from her daughter and pulling it on, adjusting it with expert fingers.

"You too, Mayu?" Kagome was more then a little shocked to see the Lady of the North dressing for battle. She had totally avoided the war with Ryuutaisho.

"When you are my age you learn to pick your battles. I have not been needed for some time, but that does not mean I am unable." Her smile was showing quite a bit more of her fangs then usual. "While my mate does not like to admit it, I have lead forces against him before and defeated him."

Cho's jaw dropped. "You defeated father?"

"Hai. I will tell you the story later." Mayu took her sheathed sword from her daughter, slipping it into place.

The roar from outside of the village suddenly increased in volume, making Kagome flinch. "I think time's up."

"We must hold the wall. There are innocents in here." Merkamou was already heading back to the wall with his sister, his eyes almost as cold as Sesshomaru's.

"Katsuro."

"Hai, father." Falling into step with his father, Katsuro made his way to the front lines as well.

"And where will you be, Mama?" Mizuki was now standing next to a full size Shou, also dressed for battle.

"Top of the sentry tower with my bow." Kagome gave her daughter a quick hug. "Be careful, Mizuki-chan."

"Of course, Mama." Swinging onto Shou, Mizuki took to the sky.

"I should stay with you, Kagome-sama." Kumo stared after her mate as he marched off after his lord.

"Go with Cho, Kumo. I'll feel better knowing that you two are with the littles." Kagome gave her assistant a little push. "Go on, I have plenty of people out here watching out for me."

Hesitant, Kumo bowed and joined Cho. They hurried off to join the rest of the non-combatants, taking cover in a fortified building.

The rest of the youkai were rushing towards the wall and the roar of approaching battle. Taking a deep breath, Kagome forced herself to calm down. 'This is so much worse then going to war. There are children hiding in here! What is this? Why are they attacking?' She ran for the tower, trailed by the two guards that Mizuki had stuck with her, bow and quivers in hand. She had a village to defend, and no more time to worry about what had caused this.

----

"Merkamou-sama, may I make a suggestion?"

"Of course, Mizuki-san."

"We need to give them a taste of what it is like to fight the taiyoukai, so that they do not wish to continue." Mizuki turned to look at Merkamou.

"Such as?"

"A preemptive strike."

The flash of flame zigged and zagged as he thought, staying close to Shou as they observed their enemies. "In this situation it may be in our best interest."

"I agree." Akane circled around Shou's head, annoying the dragon until he snapped at her. "Those of us that can fly should take this advantage before they can come into range of the village."

"Hai. I will bring Yuriko and Seiji." Shou dove back down towards the village, easily picking out Ah-Un. "Yuriko, preemptive strike."

"Hai!" Twin roars thundered from Ah-Un as he streaked to the flames that were waiting for him.

"Seiji-san!" Mizuki could see the dragon standing with his parents, gesturing. "You are needed for a preemptive strike."

Not one, but two dragons took to the air. Akira joined her son as they gathered above the village.

"No plan, just cause as much damage as possible." Mizuki pulled her naginata from behind her back.

The flames turned into hawks, screaming challenge as they dove. They were closely followed by an array of dragons, echoing their screams with roars.

Diving into the fray, Mizuki saw Seiji at Shou's side. "Good battle, Seiji-san!"

"Good battle, Mizuki-san!"

----

'And that's the bonus of fighting with taiyoukai.' Kagome watched with horror and admiration as Mizuki's group sliced through the ningen army, breaking up any hint of organization as the soldiers scrambled for cover. Shou cut a swath with his ice shards, shredding the enemy's armor to bits. Shots rang out as muskets were fired at them, making the attackers swerve to stay clear. Akane jerked as though hit, but continued to attack.

Someone in the army sounded the charge, and for lack of any other places to go, the survivors charged.

Kagome quickly figured out that the odds were against her. Her arrows were not nearly as effective with the ningens as they were with the youkai, and there were five ningens for every one youkai. Frustrated, she continued to fire along with her guards. A ningen would still drop if it was a direct hit, but it was not as helpful as the effect it had on youkai when she could drop five or more with each attack.

The exterminators were holding the wall, with some support from their youkai guests. She could see the flash of white that was her mate's hair, right next to the spot of black that was her son. Even as she watched they leapt down into the heart of the battle, quickly followed by Hideaki, Mayu, Shippou, and the Captain. On the other side of the wall she could see Koga, also leaping down with Hideaki's advisors. Her heart thundered as she saw them leaping into danger, but she quickly dragged her attention back to taking out as many enemies as possible.

---

Katsuro stuck near his father as they cut a swath through the attacking force. What the ningens lacked in strength they were making up for in numbers, making it difficult for him to move. In such close quarters they did not seem to be interested in using any of the more advanced weapons, but they were causing enough trouble with sword and spear. Sesshomaru swung Tokijin, slashing through the crowd and obliterating any near him, but there were more to crowd in and continue to push.

Above them an explosion rocked the walls of the village. Katsuro jumped clear as debris fell, raining chunks of flaming wood down on them. In the distance he could hear an explosion, followed by another chuck of the wall being damaged. The ningens were firing at the walls, trying to bring them down.

"We have to do something about those weapons!" Katsuro slashed through two more attackers, trying to see a path through the mess.

"I will deal with it." Mayu disappeared to be replaced by a giant leopard, ignoring the attacks around her to race across the battle ground. A second and third leopard ran after her, Hideaki and Isamu providing support.

The cannons fired again, some aimed at the walls while others were aimed at the dragons and hawks that were still attacking from the skies.

Katsuro flinched when he heard a howl from the sky, forgetting about his enemies as he searched for Shou and his sister. A dragon was falling from the sky, a lucky shot from a cannon bringing it down.

A ningen saw his distraction and slashed into his arm. Enraged, Katsuro cut through his enemies. He was not surprised to hear a leopard roar as the dragon fell to earth.

'Isamu. I hope Akira is alive.'

----

"Akira!"

Kagome watched in horror as her friend fell from the sky. She ran to the ladder, her only thought consisting of getting to the fallen ally.

"They're coming over the wall!"

Cursing, the miko spun away from the ladder, looking for the breech. The latest volley from the cannons had opened up a hole, letting the enemy start to leak through into the village. A quick set of shots from her bow helped the exterminators, making the invaders hesitate, but that would not last for long. Sesshomaru, Katsuro, and the Captain were holding the opposite wall alone, with the leopards racing towards the cannons. Another series of blasts threatened to bring the wall down completely.

'I need to bring in Mizuki's group.' Kagome's eyes were frantic as she looked for any way to send a signal. She saw a flash of red on the wall beneath her. Shippou had jumped back up on top of the wall and was one of the group holding off the breech. Most importantly, he was within yelling distance.

"Shippou-kun, I need to get Mizuki's attention!"

"Hai, Kagome-chan!" The kitsune sent a blast of fox fire into the sky, the blue color standing out amongst the destruction.

In the distance Shou slowed, turning towards the village slightly.

Another blast of fox fire went up, bringing Shou and the other dragons back to the village. The hawks continued to harry from the sky, blasting flames across their enemies.

Shou arrived first, diving low to allow Mizuki to cut through the soldiers like a farmer in the field. He could not just blast away while his allies were mixed in, but he could still rip through the mass with his claws.

In the distance Kagome could see that Akira had transformed back, and that Isamu had her. Even as she breathed a sigh of relief her tower shook, hit with a cannon blast. Mayu and Hideaki had most of the cannons dealt with, but someone was still firing. The wood creaked and snapped, failing around her. Scrambling, she threw her bow over her shoulder and rushed for the ladder. One of her guard jumped straight to the ground, rolling hard. The other grabbed her around the waist and tossed her, shrieking, out of the tower. The first guard had recovered and jumped up to catch her, landing hard enough to make her head knock against his armor. 'Ow. Not fun.'

The second guard landed next to her, wheezing from his escape. The sentry tower was now nothing more then a pile of rubble, and yet another way for forces to come in. As soon as she was set back on her feet, Kagome had her bow back out. "We have to hold them off!"

"Hai, my lady!"

----

'I recognized that one.' Seiji spun about in a tight arc, zeroing in on a youkai that he had recognized. Snatching the lone youkai from the group, he went back inside of the village before landing and pinning the youkai to the ground. "You."

The trapped solider was in a state of absolute panic, struggling franticly.

"I know you from the Eastern court. What are you doing here?" Seiji's voice shook through his captive, draining away any resistance.

"It was orders, Sejii-sama."

"Orders from who?"

"Tsuki-sama."

Seiji's claws tightened, crushing the soldier beneath them. 'Tsuki. Curse his entire family! He knew we were leaving, so he arranged this to delay us and preferably kill us so he could take over. Mother should have killed him as soon as she returned from killing his brother, Ryuutaisho.'

"What are you doing, Seiji-san?" Shou hovered near by as Mizuki watched a partially collapsed wall for more invaders.

"The East is in danger." Launching back into the air, Seiji hunted for his parents. He found them just inside of the wall, Isamu crouched next to Akira. "Father, mother!"

"She was hit by a cannon." Isamu held Akira's hand, a frantic expression in his eyes. "A healer is on the way."

"Leave her to the healer, father. Tsuki is taking over even as we speak."

"No. I will not leave her."

"Father, the East . . . "

"To hell with the East! She could die, Seiji!"

Stunned, Seiji peered at his mother's unconscious face. "I cannot help. I know nothing of healing."

"Neither do I. I can't stand this! Her life is slipping away and I can do nothing!"

Seiji sniffed delicately at his mother, then rose suddenly and turned away. "I can do nothing for her but defend her lands." He took off. "Mizuki-san!"

"Hai, Seiji-san?" Mizuki risked a look towards the dragon that had come up beside her.

"I must go. The youkai were sent from the Eastern court, and even now I suspect that the court is being taken over."

"Your parents. . . "

"Mother is unconscious, and father will not leave her."

Mizuki hesitated, looking at the battle around her. "You cannot go alone. It will accomplish nothing."

"I have no choice. I will not stay here and let this scheme come to fruition."

'There must be someone we can send.' Mizuki spotted her mother, firing her glowing arrows, and dove Shou down to her. "Mama, the youkai are from the East. Someone is attempting to take over."

"Nani?" Kagome fired again before looking to her daughter. "Akira and Isamu can't go."

"Seiji intends to go by himself if necessary. Who can we spare?"

"To stop someone from taking over? We can't send that many, Mizuki-chan. You're the strategist, you know that." Kagome glanced around, seeing the still difficult odds. "It's too close still!"

"But it will destroy the entire point of coming here if Akira loses the East. Perhaps we could send Katsuro and Shippou."

"I know what will happen if the East falls." The miko could see that everyone was overwhelmed with fighting. She couldn't even find Katsuro and Shippou now. 'This rescue is probably going to take an army, and we don't exactly have one right now! Someone has planned this very well. Planned . . .'

Kagome froze, staring at her daughter, the tactical genius. 'Brains and brawn. It's so crazy, it just might work. I hope she forgives me one day.' "You go."

"Impossible. The guard is looking to me."

"In this chaos? It's a free for all, Mizuki-chan, and you know it. You can go and help Seiji check it out. If it's real, then send word and we'll come as soon as we can. No crazy stuff, just do what you can until help can get there. At least try to keep Seiji alive."

"I cannot go."

"We can't let the East fall. Not now, not when we have to make ourselves scarce. You're the best fit, and I'll order you if I have to. Just go!"

"But Katsuro . . . "

"That's an order, Commander."

"Hai, my lady." Still torn, Mizuki returned to Seiji. "I am coming with you."

"Nani?" Seiji could smell her blood, and he could see it staining the white silk of Mizuki's sleeve. 'She is injured, and now she will face more impossible odds.'

"The East cannot fall. Now is not the time for it." Shou took off, leaving Seiji to follow them. 'Mama, I hope you are correct.'

Kagome watched her daughter and Seiji take off for the East. 'If those two can't do it, no one can. Gomen nasai, Mizuki-chan.'

Ignoring the chaos around her, she fired more arrows into the army opposing them. Her arms were aching from the long battle, but all was not lost. The walls were holding, and since the leopards had destroyed the cannons it looked as though the youkai would be able to win the day. Realizing that she was out of arrows, Kagome turned to look for her other quivers. Most of them had been buried when the tower had collapsed, but there had to be more around here somewhere!

Unnoticed by her guards, she jogged across the village and ducked into a store house that she thought held weapons.

'Rice. Not exactly what I was looking for.' Ducking back out, she was quite surprised to find a group of ningens waiting for her. Swinging her bow, she tried to break free, but her miko powers did her little good against her attackers.

They swarmed her, trying to secure her arms. Kagome's infamous right hook connected with one of them, sending him flying backwards. She threw up a barrier, but three of the ningens were already too close and were trapped inside with her. The men grappled with her, dragging her down and trying to secure her arms. "Get off of me you bastards!"

"Knock her out before they find us!"

There was a thud, a flash of pain, then black.

----


	83. From the Past

A/N: I've told you guys before, if you weren't so darn funny I wouldn't do such evil cliffies! But its so worth it. Not many guesses on the villain, but I hear Inuyasha, and I think one was suggesting Ryuutaisho. No votes for Naraku? 

AN.AN.AN, you always manage to bring up something that isn't matching up quite right. Thank you! Hold off on Katsuro, I'm about to mess his world up. Mr. J, you are so so so bad! But I'll admit, I look forward to your reviews. Kakashisninjadogs, LMAO! Your poor computer. And I'm using Sesshy's fights from the fourth movie, I think, to figure out Tokijin's limits. Sure, he can blast away like crazy, but only when he's fighting alone, and even in the movie he knocks ten or so away at a time. No super moves with family right near by. And don't forget the mysterious youkai that are helping the ningens, they'd be tougher to kill. Besides, the ballerina move has a limited range. Isamu has no idea about Tensaiga. To everyone yelling that Sesshy would notice, I haven't gotten there yet! Hold your britches! She just hit the ground! 

Sure, I own some stuff, but nothing that belongs to anyone else. How's that for crystal clear?

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"Knock her out before she purifies everyone!"

There was a thud, a flash of pain, then black.

----

In the midst of battle, even as he was swinging to destroy a particularly annoying youkai, Sesshomaru's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed.

Katsuro heard the thud, and turned in time to stop the attacking youkai from taking advantage of it. "Oh, shit!" Standing over his fallen father, Katsuro slashed through the attackers that were trying to take advantage of the downed taiyoukai.

"Language, Katsuro!" Yuriko dropped from the sky, crushing an unfortunate youkai and removing his neighbor's head.

"Look, Yuriko!" Two more opponents fell to the ground, giving Katsuro some breathing room.

The little hawk spotted the downed taiyoukai even as she slashed through her next enemy. "Oh, shit!"

"That's what I said!"

"What happened?"

"I have no idea. He was fine, then he just collapsed!"

"We have to get him out of here!"

"No kidding." 

Yuriko whistled for Ah-Un. While Katsuro and the Captain defended the group, she hauled the unconscious form of Sesshomaru onto the dragon. "He weighs a ton!"

"I'm so telling him that you said that." A glancing hit made Katsuro stumble, blood running down his leg. Slowly but surely the insane odds were wearing him down, and now he was doing this without his father's help. Desperation fueled his choice. "Get him out of here, Yuriko!"

Katsuro transformed, letting his youkai half take control and turn him into a massive black dog. Squeaking with surprise, Yuriko jumped onto Ah-Un behind her unconscious passenger and took to the sky.

The attackers were knocked aside like paper dolls as Katsuro let go of his fury at having his family attacked. His claws ripped through an unlucky youkai as his teeth silenced another one's yell of challenge. The Captain followed suit, adding a second black dog to the mix. The ningens started to retreat under the assault, looking for other ways into the village.

In the sky, Merkamou had noticed his daughter's passenger. He switched to his flame form, hovering over the inu-youkai. "How bad are his injuries?"

"That is what is so confusing, Papa. I cannot find any! Katsuro said that he just dropped." Yuriko shook her head. "I do not know what to do with him."

"He just dropped. . ." Merkamou was suddenly racing towards the village. "Where is Kagome?"

"Kagome? What does Kagome-chan have to do with this?" Yuriko chased her father.

"If she is unconscious, then so is her mate. She must be hurt." 

The frantic search revealed no miko inside of the village, and no witnesses as to where she had gone.

"Where is she? Is she dead?" Yuriko tugged Sesshomaru off of the dragon and set him on the ground inside of the village.

"No. If she was, Sesshomaru-sama would also be dead." Merkamou checked the inu-youkai's breathing. "He is merely unconscious."

"Captured, then. The sentry tower collapsed, so she was thrown into the fray. They said they wanted the Ladies."

"Hai." Merkamou glanced over to Akira, who was being tended to by a healer and her mate. From the expressions, it was not going well. "They have captured one, and may very well have killed a second."

"Why target the Ladies? It makes no sense!" Yuriko stayed kneeling next to Sesshomaru, frustration in her every line. "What am I going to do with him? They need me out there!"

"Move him with the healer. We cannot do anything for him without finding Kagome, and that is impossible in this mess. First we must defeat the attackers."

"Hai, father." Hauling the inu-youkai with her father's help, Yuriko deposited him with the healer to watch over him. "Let's go, Ah-Un!"

----

"Kumo-san, can you tell what's going on out there?"

Kumo shook her head, never taking her eyes off of the one door in the building. Cho was sitting with the children, who refused to let her get away from them. While a handful of mothers cowered in the back of the room, they clung to the beautiful lady that they had just met. In this terrible nightmare, a kind face and sweet voice was all that mattered. They hardly noticed the fangs or spotted hair.

'Onegai. Onegai, Kami-sama, let them be alright.' Forcing herself to look calm for the littles crowded around her, Cho sang one of her favorite songs to them. It was a happy song, about a beautiful spring day, but the words kept sticking in her throat.

"Cho-sama, hush." Kumo backed away from the door, picking up the katana she had brought with her and putting it behind her back. "I hear someone."

"Hush, littles, hush." Setting the one that had been in her lap with his friends, Cho moved over to Kumo. "Friend or foe?"

"Foe."

A loud thump rattled the barred door, making everyone jump. A second blow followed, and a third. The hinges were already failing, and the door was coming down.

"What do you suggest, Kumo-san?"

"They will not touch the littles." Kumo kept the katana behind her, standing as though nothing was wrong. 

Cho gave a small nod and followed suit, wishing she had brought a dagger like Mizuki always seemed to have. 'Lesson learned. I will simply have to work with what is available.'

The door crashed in, making the children squeal and draw back.

"And what have we here?" A ningen ducked through the door, looking around. He saw two ladies in beautiful kimonos with a group of children. "Are you poor ladies all alone?"

'Baka.' Cho let herself cower a bit, showing submission. As a second ningen and a youkai came in, she fluttered her eyelashes and looked at the floor. 'A wilting lily, terrified.'

"Youkai or not, they sure are pretty." The second ningen looked Kumo up and down. "A little older then I like them, but not bad."

'I should let my mate have that one.' Kumo kept her eyes on the floor, her grip tightening on her weapon.

The first ningen pulled Cho over by her arm. "What were they thinking, leaving the kids to be protected by this pair?"

Cho glanced over to Kumo, who had maneuvered herself near the distracted youkai. "Close your eyes, littles."

The two ningens looked at each other. "Nani?"

Using her taiyoukai speed, Cho ripped the ningen's throat out, letting him drop to the floor at her feet to bleed out. Kumo had already slammed the katana through the youkai's back and driven him to the ground. 

The second ningen turned when he saw Kumo attack, presenting Cho with a perfect target. She leapt, driving him to the ground. Her fist impacted with the side of his head, making a sound like a melon being struck by a rock. 

Turning, she saw Kumo yank the katana back out and slam down through the youkai's neck, removing his head. Still baring her teeth, the usually calm assistant hissed at the bodies on the floor. "We must get them out of here. They should not be with the young ones."

Stomach churning, Cho helped Kumo chuck the bodies out the door. Barricading the door again was a lost cause, so the two ladies could do nothing but watch and wait for the nightmare to end.

----

Circling over the fray, Yuriko found the forces opposing them thinning. The attacks from the sky were taking the fight out of them, while the taiyoukai and hanyou were cutting swaths through them. The exterminators fired weapons from the tops of the walls, and held the enemy back when they tried to make it through the damage that the cannons had created.

Ah-Un fired from the sky, blasting holes in the army beneath them. Merkamou had also returned to the attack, scorching his way through the enemy. One of the leopards was down, and Yuriko flinched. 'Is that Mayu or Hideaki? They are aiming for the Ladies . . . '

A musket fired, hitting Ah-Un as he dove low again. Roaring, he climbed away from the dangerous weapons as blood ran from his side. 

"Ah-Un!" Yuriko swung so she was hanging from the side of the saddle, examining his wound. "How bad is it?"

The dragon growled, but showed no interest in landing.

"If you are seriously hurt, you land right now!"

Ignoring her, Ah-Un fired another set of twin blasts into the army. 

"You only have yourself to blame if you make yourself worse." Sword in hand, Yuriko continued to lean over the side as she and Ah-Un raced through the enemy, cutting them down and blasting them out of existence.

Katsuro and the Captain were standing in isolation, the enemy wanting nothing to do with them. The remaining ningens were starting to flee, along with the surviving youkai. The exhausted and injured defenders had no interest in finishing them off. The exterminators turned their attention to helping the injured, most of whom were hit when the walls had started to collapse. Koga and the other Northern lords chased the stragglers off, striking down any that did not flee quickly enough.

Mayu appeared, dragging her mate in with her. Stumbling, she had to wait for the gate to open since she could not leap to the top of the wall as the rest of the youkai were doing. Still in her leopard form, she dragged her mate in his normal form through the gate and deposited him next to Sesshomaru. His kimono was slashed to ribbons and he did not respond to anything around him. Transforming, Mayu dropped to her knees next to him. "Anata." (1)

Returning to her usual form, Akane landed inside of the village. Aside from a cut across her face that was mostly healed, she was also sporting a hole from a musket. Blood streaked down her side. "Where are Merkamou and Yuriko?"

"I am here, sister." Merkamou touched down behind her, also streaked with blood of his own and his enemies. "Yuriko is watching over the retreat."

"Thank goodness." Akane swayed a bit from exhaustion. "I was quite worried there for awhile."

"As was I." Taking his sister's arm, Merkamou looked her over. "How bad is it?"

"It stings quite a bit, but I will be fine, little brother." 

"Mother! Father!" 

Cho raced towards her parents, all of her usual poise and grace forgotten.

"Cho-chan." Mayu started when she saw blood on Cho's clothing. "You are injured?"

"No, Mama. A small group got into the village and tried to get into the building with the young ones that were not fighting. Kumo-san and I had to stop them." Dropping to her knees, Cho touched her father's cheek. "Father?"

"One of the weapons he was destroying exploded." Swaying, the lady tried to stay upright and focused. "Of course he did not stop. He can be so damn stubborn sometimes."

The blood soaked silk was torn away, revealing the damage. Grimacing, Cho set to work cleaning up the mess and stopping the bleeding. Her mother stared with unfocused eyes as her daughter tended to her mate.

"Do not worry, Mama. It does not look like he will die. He is exhausted and has lost too much blood, no more. His heart beat is as strong as ever." Smiling a bit, Cho ripped her patient's kimono for a makeshift bandage. "I can only imagine what he was doing. He charged in despite impossible odds, correct?"

"Of course. Baka." Mayu slipped towards the ground, exhaustion catching up with her.

A quick move by Merkamou kept the leopard from hitting the ground. "This is a sight I had never thought to see. Hideaki-sama, Mayu-sama, Akira-sama, and Sesshomaru-sama all down. How will we find Kagome?"

"Kagome-sama?" Cho looked up with an expression of horror. "Where is she?"

"Yes, where is my mother?" Katsuro dropped down from the wall, covered in blood. The cold stare made Merkamou think of his father, and he drew back half a step.

"Katsuro-san?" Cho looked up from her father, her heart skipping a beat when she saw his pale complexion combined with a look that she had never seen before on his usually gentle face. There was no way to know what blood was his and what was from his enemies.

Merkamou braced himself. "I do not know, Katsuro-san. She has disappeared, at the same time your father fell unconscious. I believe she has been captured."

"And Ki-chan? Where is she?"

"She took off with Seiji." Shippou walked slowly towards them, limping. "She was talking to Kagome-chan, I saw that part, and then they took off."

"Baka." Isamu looked away from Akira. "Tsuki is attempting to take over the East. They are probably on their way to stop him."

'I will not panic. I will not give up. Later I will completely freak out and throw up. Right now I have to take care of my pack.' Katsuro let his eyes fall closed for a moment before looking at the injured group. "Ki-chan and Seiji-san are out of our hands now. My mother has to be found, we have to care for the wounded, and the village must be secured. How is Akira-sama, Isamu-sama?"

"She is not waking up." Despair was plain in the male's voice.

"Can she be moved?"

The healer nodded. "As long as we are careful."

"Let's get them moved inside. We also need to help get the other wounded moved inside so that they can be taken care off, and the dead need to be moved. Since Ki-chan's gone, the guard is going to be a complete mess. Captain, Shippou, feel like doing some yelling?"

"Sure, why not?" The kitsune shrugged, a bit of his fire returning.

"I will not have to yell." The Captain slipped his sword back into its sheath. "They won't have the energy to argue with me."

Ah-Un and Yuriko landed, and Katsuro was relieved to see another body that was up and moving.

"Yuriko, take over here. Help get everyone moved inside. Shippou and the Captain can take care of out here. Merkamou, I'm going to need your help."

"Hai, Katsuro." Yuriko turned to the collapsed group. "Cho-san, can you grab Hideaki-sama's other arm? If we can get him up on Ah-Un we can get him moved."

"Hai, Yuriko-san." Cho grabbed onto a limp arm and started to pull. With Yuriko's help they got the taiyoukai up onto the dragon. 

Pushing blood soaked hair out of his eyes, Katsuro moved away. He glanced back over his shoulder at the Captain and his new assistant. "Will you two be alright with this lot?"

"Sure thing. They're pretty used to seeing me around, and it's just clean up. Besides, I've got the Captain with me." Shippou drew on his last reserves to walk like he was in decent shape.

"I have to figure out what happened to Mama." Katsuro wavered for an instant, the pressure threatening to crush him. "Ki-chan's gone, Mama's missing, half of the lords are down including father . . . "

"You can do it, Katsuro."

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" In the distance Katsuro could see the guard milling about, lost without their Commander. "Take it away, Captain."

"Of course, my lord." Despite his exhaustion, Kenshin was feeling more like himself then he had in years. Stomping across the village, he closed in on the confused soldiers. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you pack of brainless, worthless bastards? Take care of the wounded and get the watch posted, you pathetic excuse for morons!"

"So much for not yelling." Shippou mumbled under his breath as he followed the Captain through the rubble.

"And what mission do you have in mind for us, Katsuro-san?" Merkamou watched the younger hanyou closely, still adapting to the change in his demeanor.

"We must find Mama. I don't want to wait for father to wake up and realize she's gone."

"The village may not survive that."

"Exactly. I'll take down here, you can take a loop around the village and see if you can find any sign of where they went."

"Hai, Katsuro-san." The taiyoukai disappeared to be replaced by flame, racing away.

Katsuro hunted for any sign of what had become of his mother. He could smell her all over the place, barely distinguishable over the stench of gunpowder and blood. His hunt revealed his mother's bow, lying on the ground outside of a storehouse. There were signs of a struggle, but nothing that could help him. He could not find her scent leading away from the scene, but he knew that was impossible. He knew his senses were weakened by his exhaustion, and the fact that he was still bleeding, but they were not that far gone. 'Magic. They must have used magic.' Frustration burned through him as he went to check on his father. As soon as his father woke he would be able to track Mama, no matter where she was hidden.

'Don't worry, Mama. I'll find you.'

----

"Mizuki-san, stop."

"We must get to the East."

Seiji growled, moving to block Shou. "It will do us no good to arrive there and not be able to stand. We will land and rest for a few hours. Look to your mount if you will not look to yourself."

Blinking in surprise, Mizuki dropped her hand down to Shou's neck. The dragon was breathing hard, pushing himself to the limit. She dropped her head down by his mane, her voice the softest of whispers. "Gomen nasai, Shou-chan. You should have stopped me."

The dragon turned his eerie silver eyes to her, rumbling a bit. Smiling at his obvious forgiveness, Mizuki scratched at his mane. "Shall I find a nice boar for you, sleepy one?"

Shou dropped like a rock, heading for a stream meandering through the trees. 

"I believe he likes the idea of a rest." Seiji dropped at a more leisurely pace, his chuckles rumbling through his chest.

"It is never a surprise when Shou wishes to rest." Securely on the ground, Mizuki pushed her bound hair aside so Shou could settle in for a nap. "I will return shortly with dinner for him."

"I will see to our meal."

Mizuki actually fidgeted. Something about that just felt weird to her. "I can take care of myself."

"You already must find enough for that beast at your neck. What kind of a rest will it be if you are also hunting for yourself?"

"It is none of your concern."

"Just drop it, Mizuki. No one is here, and I will not tell anyone that I did some hunting for you."

Unable to come up with an answer, at least not a coherent one, Mizuki stormed off into the woods. 'I will kill this particular meal with my bare hands.'

It was not a boar, but a very irritable sow that she brought down without weapons. She felt more in control after that then she had since her mother had sent her off on this insane mission. It was hard work to drag her kill back, and it opened up her arm again. Growling, she dropped the sow at the edge of the primitive camp they were forming and gave Shou a shake. "Up, sleepy one. Dinner is here."

Shou blinked at her before realizing what she had said. Dropping to the ground, he changed to his wolfhound size and dug right in. 

'It is very difficult on my own appetite to be around him when he is eating.' Mizuki flattened her ears as she moved away from her ecstatic partner. 'I can make it through bloody, filthy battles without concern, but his enthusiastic devouring is more then I can bear.'

"Your timing is impeccable, Mizuki-san." Seiji had a fire going, and his own handiwork was already staked out and sizzling away. "I considered just having it raw, but seeing the way you are reacting to your little friend I am glad that I decided to start a fire."

Mizuki's stomach flipped around some more. "I do not know if I will be able to eat."

"Of course you will."

The blue eyes just stared. "And you are so certain of this."

"Or I will force it down your throat. What good will you be if you pass out? Also, you need to sleep. I will keep watch."

"And when will you rest?"

"I do not need to."

Feeling rather like she had been slapped, Mizuki sat down on the opposite side of the fire, as far away as possible from that dragon. "Understood. I will not make you force food into me or knock me unconscious."

Seiji could smell blood in the air again. "You should tend to that arm as well."

"Hai, Papa." She desperately wanted to move away, to hide with Shou and forget this entire situation, but he was still eating and she really, really did not want to go over there.

"Do not call me that." Pulling a hunk of meat from the fire, he got up and thrust it at Mizuki. "You are all that could come, and I cannot have you collapsing on me."

"I told you. I will take care of myself." Standing, Mizuki brushed past Seiji. "Look to your own care."

Grabbing onto her arm, Seiji dragged her back. "And I told you . . . "

Mizuki grabbed onto his kimono, flipping the shocked male to the ground. Holding him down with both hands, she glowered at him. "I am not as weak as you think I am, you bastard. If you do not wish for my assistance, fine. I will return to my pack and assist them as I should be doing. It was mother's wish, not mine, that I join you. I will not hinder you any further."

Still recovering from the sudden change in his view, Seiji grabbed onto both of her arms. "How did you . . . "

"I warned you to never underestimate me." Mizuki moved to pull away, but Seiji did not release her.

"Is it underestimating you to assume that you will need to sleep and eat since you have been in battle all day and will be continuing tomorrow?"

"No, it is underestimating to assume that I will need sleep when you do not."

"I am a taiyoukai. I can go for weeks without sleeping."

"And I can certainly stand to miss a night or two. Or a week's worth. I have done it before. Quit trying to make decisions for me. You do not know me."

"True." Seiji glared at the angry eyes that were just above his own. "Not that you exactly make it easy to know you."

"And now what are you babbling about?"

"How am I supposed to know if you do not tell me?"

'Logic. Damn. How often do I have to deal with logic outside of father?' Mizuki attempted to move away again, and this time Seiji let her. "Then ask."

"Not with the expression that you are currently wearing. Sit down, eat something. I am ready to fight Shou over his kill, so I know you must be hungry."

Shou growled at the mention of his kill.

"A joke, little one." 

"He is not amused." Mizuki finally helped herself to some food, her body's demands overriding any feelings that might make her refuse it again.

"If nothing else, we should think of a plan for when we arrive in the East. With an army of two, excuse me, three, we should expect to do something other then charge in." Seiji moved over so that he was close enough to Mizuki to actually see her.

"Ah, a relief. I had been rather concerned that your plan would be to charge in, swords flashing in the sun."

Snorting, Seiji gave her a mock glare. "I do have some sense. I would like to live through this experience."

"And now a show of intelligence to go with the forethought. You are shocking me, Seiji-san."

"And you are shocking me, Mizuki-san. A sense of humor?"

Mizuki blushed, and quickly turned her face away to hide it. 'Oh, what the hell?'

The blush was not lost on the dragon. "It is not that embarrassing. Many would consider it an attribute."

"Even when it is directed at them?"

"I do. However, very few seem to have any interest in teasing me." The dragon examined his claws. "I wonder why?"

"I do not fear you, Seiji-san."

"I know. You never have."

Glancing over, Mizuki saw that he was studying her. 'Now what? I cannot stand this. I hate him, I know I do! Right? What? What is wrong with me? I know he sees me as nothing but a duty, so I should not be reacting to him watching me. I feel like an animal caught in a trap. Oh, Mama, what have you done?'

Gathering her wits back together, Mizuki returned her attention to her meal. "We are supposed to be planning." 

"Ah, yes. I had almost forgotten our impossible task tomorrow. You are the tactician, Mizuki-san. What shall we do?"

----

'Oh, my head. What happened? More importantly, where am I?'

Kagome forced her eyes open, looking at the wall across from her. 'That's not a good sign. I think I'm lying on a dirt floor, and that's a stone wall. Please, please don't let this be a cell.'

Trying to sit up, the miko found that her arms were tied behind her, and that her shoulders did not appreciate this at all. Once she had made it to her knees, she twisted to see the rest of the room. 'Oh, no. It's a cell. I'm a prisoner. It's been centuries since something like this has happened!'

"Good morning, ningen."

Whipping her head around, Kagome focused on the youkai that was outside of her cell. "What do you want? Why am I here? My mate is going to kill you so much."

"Assuming he is still alive of course. I heard that he went down during the fighting." A second youkai leered at her from outside of the bars.

"Like that would work on me. I happen to know for a fact he's still alive, and I'm pretty sure he's up. I hope you're at peace and all that." Wiggling a bit, the miko got to her feet. "You should probably just let me go."

"Nah. You can't do anything to us tied up like that, and we do have our ningen friends here. We just have to stay out of reach."

"You think so, huh?"

The air snapped as Kagome's aura jumped to life. The youkai drew back. "Knock her out again!"

Two of the ningens reached for the bars of her cell, one of them armed. Kagome smiled. "I don't feel like being knocked out again."

Her barrier snapped to life, and she jumped forward. The ningens and youkai were thrown back to hit the wall behind them. The ningens were stunned, but the youkai were also burned anywhere the barrier touched them. As quick as she had brought it up, Kagome let it drop away again. 'I have to save my strength until Sesshomaru gets here.'

"Now, Kagome-sama. That is not very nice."

The familiar voice brought Kagome's world to a crashing halt. Slowly she turned, looking towards the source. "Impossible. Why?"

"Why? You still do not understand? To save you, of course. I told you that I would save you, even if you did not thank me at the time. You will thank me eventually."

"No. I thought you were my friend. Was it you that organized the army that attacked us?" Kagome backed away from the bars, her heart frozen.

"Hai. The rule of the taiyoukai is over." Hooves scraped on the stone as the speaker came forward. "You will be safe with me, Kagome."

"You have lost your mind, Takanou."

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A/N: Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee

(1): Anata – darling, a pet name for a wife to call her husband. 


	84. Longing

A/N: Shall I even bother trying to explain my absence? Well, server crash at work, putting in an offer on a house, and two chapters that stunk so bad I just deleted them flat out. It's for everyone's safety, believe me. Hopefully someone is still reading this. I'm not 100 with this chapter, but I've made everyone wait too long as it is. It's just a nice breather in the midst of the violence. Don't worry, plenty of violence still coming.

Now, now, I never said Takanou was the big bad. He is just the one who has Kagome. :-) I loved the response though. I was giggling as I wrote the outline months ago, and I actually wrote "It's Takanou, OMGWTF" in my notes. I couldn't leave a loose thread like that. I just had to wait 55 chapters for everyone to forget about him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What are you staring at, Cho-chan?"

"Nothing." Cho backed away from the door she had been peeking through, blushing lightly at her mother.

"Really." Giving her daughter a little push, Mayu took her place and peeked through the door. "Ah, I see. Fascinating. And your father is up! I told him to stay in bed!"

"There is nothing fascinating about a bunch of males arguing." Ignoring her own words, she ducked down so she could peek through with her mother. "Father looks tired, but that is all."

"One night of sleep and he thinks he is three hundred again."

"He is just sitting with Merkamou-sama, Isamu-kun, and Katsuro-san."

The two females listened for a moment as the four lords discussed and sometimes argued over what to do with the all of the threats arrayed against them.

"Mother, have you noticed a change?"

Mayu smiled, keeping her eyes on the male she knew her daughter was talking about. "Hai. It seems that the heir has stepped into his role."

"It was just so sudden." The younger lady's attention was glued to the black haired lord that was holding his own with the other lords.

"He has not had many opportunities to show this side of himself. I had suspected that there was a leader there, but with Sesshomaru-sama for a father and Mizuki-san for an older sister it must have been difficult."

"And what about Kagome-sama?"

"Kagome-sama is a delightful lady and not a power to be dismissed, but she has no interest in ruling the West."

"Very true. And until today, I thought her son was the same way."

"Until his father awakes, he is the Lord of the West. He has acted as such since the battle ended, and kept order. With so many of the taiyoukai injured, it is a relief that he was able to keep control." Mayu growled a little. "Does your father look pale to you?"

"Mother, he is fine. He is just sitting at a table."

"I do not like this. He should be in bed."

"Mother . . . "

"Ladies, you don't need to lurk in the door. Come in, since we can hear you anyways." Katsuro was staring straight at them. "And we're just finishing up, so if Mayu-sama wants to take Hideaki-sama away, she can."

"Please, do not help me, Katsuro-sama." Hideaki gave his mate a trapped look. "I am fine, Mayu."

"If you are done, you are going to your room. Now." Mayu had her hands on her hips in the traditional pose of female annoyance. "Well?"

"If you will excuse me, my lords, it seems that my mate requires my presence." Hideaki gave an elegant bow before leaving the room with his mate right on his heels.

"You are not a cub anymore! You should still be resting!"

Mayu's demands echoed down the hall to the room's remaining occupants.

"Merkamou-sama, if I ever look like I'm going to take a mate, hit me really, really hard." Katsuro made a face as he piled his papers together.

Isamu and Merkamou exchanged an amused look.

"The foolishness of youth, to reject something without knowing its unequaled value. However, for my own amusement, I will remember your request." Merkamou chuckled as he rose, seeing the way that a certain young female was bristling. "If you will excuse me."

"Thanks, Merkamou-sama. I'll be heading over to check on father as soon as I can. I have to find Nami-san."

"Till then." Trying not to laugh outright at the danger that Katsuro had unknowingly put himself in, the hawk bowed himself out.

Isamu was also heading out, but paused to whisper to Cho. "Try to leave enough for us to identify the body, little sister."

After the other lords had left, Cho moved to stand just in front of Katsuro. "So, Katsuro-san, you wish to remain unmated for the rest of your existence?"

The icy tones of Cho's voice made Katuro's head snap up. 'Uh oh. That doesn't sound good.' "Well, I didn't really say that. I was just telling Merkamou-sama to . . . uh . . . "

"To punish you if you ever showed signs of making such a decision." Cho was not sure why she was so aggravated with him. She just wanted some sign that he was serious about her! Was he even mature enough to do that?

Sighing, Katsuro shoved the papers away and stood up. "I wasn't serious. It was a joke, since your mother was yelling at Hideaki-sama like that. I'm more then a little tired since I haven't slept since that battle, and we still can't find Mama. Father's still out, so he can't help, and Ki-chan is off doing who knows what with Seiji-san. Akira-sama is not moving, and the healer is getting really worried about her. If she doesn't wake up soon . . . "

"I understand. You are tired. However, you have not instilled much confidence in me about your intentions."

"Intentions?" Katsuro gave her a blank look before the problem finally dawned on him. "You don't think I'm serious."

"When are you ever serious, Katsuro-san?"

Cho turned to leave the room, and Katsuro was moving before his tired mind could even catch up with it. He caught her by the arm and spun her back around, hard. His mouth dropped on hers, catching her completely off guard and taking full advantage of it. When he nipped at her lower lip she felt her knees go weak, her head spinning while her pulse thundered in her ears.

Her arms moved up to slide behind his neck, pulling him even closer if that was physically possible. The ink black hair slid against her hands, as his tongue brushed across her lips. She allowed the entrance, hearing the faint growl as his arms tightened around her.

When they finally broke apart, Cho was not allowed to move away. The emerald eyes were still so very close, and had an intense look to them.

"Still think I'm not serious?"

"Katsuro-kun . . . "

A crash echoed through the building, making them both jump. Katsuro kept her flush against him with one arm while the other went to his sword. "What the hell?"

"Your father is awake!" Yuriko ran past the door, most likely looking for her own father. She stopped and doubled back. "Put that down and go do something about him!"

"That?" Cho looked very put out.

"Oh, fabulous." Katsuro started to run for the door, then turned back and pressed a fast, hard kiss on Cho's lips. "We'll finish this later. After father is done destroying the place and finding Mama."

Katsuro ran from the room, almost slamming into Yuriko as she tried to go the other way.

Hand over her heart, Cho stared after him. 'Sugoi. I will not question his intentions again, unless, of course, he will react the same way. How long will it take before my heart returns to its normal rhythm?'

----

_Longing that was sharp enough to be pain_.

Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open, only one thought in his mind.

'Where is Kagome?'

On his feet in half a heartbeat, his eyes scanned the room, trying to piece together what had happened. The healer just about fainted when the Lord of the West was suddenly awake and glaring at her.

"Where is Kagome?"

"I do not know, my lord."

A convenient table was flung across the room and through a wall. "What has happened to my mate!"

"Eep!" Yuriko ran from the room, looking for anyone that could help with the enraged taiyoukai.

Sesshomaru could feel the faint tugging, pulling him towards his other half. 'She is alive, awake, and unharmed. Very unhappy, but unharmed. I can track her.'

The doorway was blocked, and he attacked in a blind rage.

"Ow, damn it, father!" Katsuro dodged the worst of his father's attacks, but still got his arm sliced open. Pulling his sword, he slammed the pommel into Sesshomaru's stomach, trying to get his attention. "It's me! Katsuro!"

Grabbing the obstacle by the throat, Sesshomaru hauled him off the ground.

"Father!" Slamming the sword into his father's arm, Katsuro broke free. "Wake up, already!"

"Damn." Merkamou appeared behind Katsuro. "I do not think he is entirely sane right now."

"Ya think?"

The next attack sent Katsuro flying backwards into Merkamou, sending all three tumbling out of the door. Merkamou recovered first, tackling Sesshomaru and pushing him back into the great room. "Calm down, Sesshomaru-sama."

The answer was a fist to the side of Merkamou's head that threatened to snap it clear off of his body. Even as the world spun about in a way that made things rather confusing, the hawk dragged his friend back down. "Do not make me hurt you, Sesshomaru."

Snarling, Sesshomaru reached for Tokijin. Merkamou threw him hard, cracking the floor from the impact. The inu-youkai was not as quick to get up, but his eyes were still not sane. Tackling him again, Merkamou tried to keep Sesshomaru's hands away from Tokijin. The building would most definitely not survive that.

There was another crash as Sesshomaru broke away, sending Merkamou to the ground. The stubborn hawk gritted his teeth and lunged back up. The taiyoukai was closing on his son again, and Merkamou grabbed onto the back of his clothing with both hands, dragging him back. Twisting, Sesshomaru grabbed onto Merkamou's arm and dug his claws in. Kicking out, the hawk knocked his friend's feet out from underneath him, sending them both down to the floor again.

"How are you going to save Mama if you are going to go on a rampage like this? You'd destroy every village between here and wherever she is! We aren't letting you out until you can at least talk!" Katsuro blocked the doorway again, sword in hand. "You damn arrogant bastard!"

Sesshomaru stopped, staring at his son. Recognition kicked in. "Katsuro."

"Hai?"

"What happened to Kagome?"

"This appears promising." Merkamou eased his grip on the taiyoukai. "She was taken in the fighting, Sesshomaru-sama, at the same time that you collapsed."

"And she has not been found?"

Katsuro hung his head. "They concealed her trail. We couldn't find her."

"Hn." Removing his claws from Merkamou's arm, Sesshomaru glanced around the room. "And how long have I been unconscious?"

"A night."

'And that is why I am still able to function. It has not been very long.' Standing, he hauled Merkamou up with him. "I will find her."

Katsuro continued to block the door. "And I'm coming with you."

Sesshomaru and his son exchanged dark looks. "I do not require assistance."

"Where do you think what's left of that army went? I'm coming with you."

"As am I." Merkamou ripped a part of his kimono to bind his arm. "I could not leave Kagome-sama in danger."

"And I am coming."

All eyes swiveled to find Mayu behind Katsuro, her face set in stone. "Someone is aiming for the Ladies, and I intend to find out why as well as deliver a slow and painful death." Her eyes tracked over to where Akira was still unmoving, pale and cold as death, her son on guard at her side. "That is my son's mate. He will not go, so I will."

"The more, the merrier." Merkamou smiled, even if it did not have the usual energy. "Yuriko-chan will insist in coming as well, and where she and Katsuro-sama go you will find Shippou-san."

"Sounds like a regular festival to me." Katsuro finally resheathed his sword. "Can you tell how far away she is, father?"

"No."

"Damn. We should organize a bit, then. What time of day is it?" Katsuro moved to the hole his father had created, poking his head out. "Okay, everyone grab what you need and head to the center of the village."

There were mumbled assents as the group scattered to find weapons and armor.

Sesshomaru was looking at his son with a strange expression, and it was not missed by Katsuro. "Nani?"

"You are giving orders."

Katsuro's eyes got really big. "I didn't mean to take over, I really didn't."

"It was your duty."

"Well, yeah, when you were out, but now you should be giving the orders."

"As long as you follow my orders, you are free to give orders to others."

Blood returned to its normal rhythm as Katsuro started to breathe again. "So you aren't going to beat me up for usurping your authority?"

"Not today."

"Oh. Well, okay." Katsuro gave an uneasy smile. "I've got to grab some weapons. Just don't attack anyone. We'll go find Mama."

----

"I have met some big losers in my time, and I've been alive for a long time now. But you take the cake, Takanou." Kagome sat at the back of the cell, trying to ignore the pain of separation in her chest. "I'm just going to sit here and wait for my mate to charge in here and finish you off."

"He will never find us." Takanou smiled at her through the bars.

Kagome shut her eyes, a smile of her own easing across her face. "He's on his way. And, unless I'm mistaken, he's bringing half of the taiyoukai with him."

"And how would you know this?"

"Umm, does the word 'bonded' mean anything to you? Dimwit."

Takanou's smile actually grew. "Yes, I know you are bonded. There are ways around these things."

"Sure, unless you're a 250 year-old ningen. Baka."

"I have spent the last two centuries researching ways to gain your freedom."

The cobalt eyes snapped open. "So you've been obsessed with me all this time."

"Not obsessed. I have never felt for anyone what I feel for you. The idea of you being trapped with him . . . "

"We'll deal with that garbage in a minute. Why would you attack all of the taiyoukai if you were just trying to get me? Why did you target the Ladies?"

"The Ladies? What are you talking about, Kagome-sama?"

"They told us that if we handed over the Ladies they would leave before they attacked. That was your army, right?"

"Parts of it. Other parts came from the South and the East."

Kagome let her head fall back against the wall. If her hands were free she would have rubbed her temples. "Were you even there?"

"No. I was here, waiting for you."

"What did you tell them to do?"

"I gave them two objectives. Kill Akira and capture you. How they went about it was of no concern to me. I did not know that he had demanded all of the Ladies."

Back on her feet, Kagome started to move to the front of the cell again. "Why Akira? What did she do to you?"

"To me? Nothing. That was the price for Tsuki's assistance in capturing you."

"Tsuki? Who the hell is Tsuki?"

Takanou shrugged. "A lord from the East. I believe he is looking to take over after Akira's death. With the assistance of the youkai he sent we were able to cause significant damage as well as rescuing you."

"Have you even noticed that you're being manipulated? Tsuki is trying to take over, and he's using you!"

"He may believe whatever he likes. You are here, and I will be able to break the hold that the dog has over you. You will be with me."

"Not only are you a loser, you're an idiot! I don't want to be with you. I. Don't. Want. To. Be. With. You."

"That is his hold over you speaking. You will understand after I have made you my mate."

The walls shook with the force of Takanou's impact, Kagome's barrier pinning him to the wall. "You will never touch me. I am not and will never be your mate."

The barrier disappeared and Takanou slid to the ground. "His hold over you is powerful."

"Jackass."

"Be reasonable, Kagome-sama . . . "

"You're a jackass! Jackass! Jackass! Jackass! Jackass! Jackass!"

Takanou stood up, glaring at the screaming miko. "I will return with the supplies needed to break this bond. Then you will understand."

"Loser! Baka! Dimwit! Moron! Stupid!"

Since the little miko was showing no signs of stopping, or that she had even heard him, Takanou retreated.

'You better hurry up and get here, jo-chan. I don't want him mucking around with the bond that's keeping me alive after all of these years. He probably can't do a thing, but even morons can make a lucky guess once in a while.'

----

"He never knew Inuyasha, but sometimes he just looks so much like him." Shippou looked past Yuriko to where his friend was leaping from treetop to treetop.

"Inuyasha? I think I have heard the name before. Who was he?" Yuriko turned her head to meet the mischievous eyes behind her.

"Sesshomaru's half brother, a hanyou. He had white hair and gold eyes like Sesshomaru, but it's just so weird to see Katsuro jumping around just like he did. He used to travel with me, Kagome, Sango, Mirokou, and Kirara."

"What happened to him?"

"He died." Shippou's eyes dropped. "He went to hell with an undead priestess. I'm still mad at him for leaving Kagome-chan alone like that. Come on, Kikyo reeked!"

"You had some amazing adventures growing up, ne?"

"Hai." His smile returning, Shippou looked up to meet her eyes. "Jealous?"

"Of course not. It will just take me longer to collect my own adventures. You did not have Papa watching over you at all times." Tossing a glare at the streak of flame traveling near Katsuro, Yuriko huffed. "I have had more freedom in the last two weeks then I have had in the last hundred years."

"And what have you done with it? Aggravated the hell out of Mizuki flirting with that dragon, gotten involved in a huge battle, and are now charging off on your first rescue mission. I think you're making up for lost time."

"I have not been aggravating Mizuki. She insists that he is not her intended."

Shippou gave her a hard poke. "Do you even like Seiji?"

"I have not actually talked to him much."

"I've been watching those two for months now. It's a lost cause. Believe me."

There had been a hint of pain to the kitsune's voice.

"And did you even like Mizuki?"

"She's a friend. She really is. It bothers me so much that she's with that guy. He's arrogant, hates hanyou . . . "

"Then why do you think it is a lost cause?"

"I just know a lost cause when I see one. Or two."

The red hair fell across Yuriko's shoulder as Shippou set his head there.

"You are talking about Cho now, are you not?"

"She can't even keep her eyes off of Katsuro. Another lost cause. How can I compete with either of them? Heir of the West, heir of the East, and Shippou. Easy choice."

Yuriko reached back to touch Shippou's hair. "Stop it, my friend. Mizuki was not given a choice in the matter. Cho has known Katsuro most of his life. It has nothing to do with you."

"I know, I know, Yuriko."

"Then do not beat yourself up over it. It is not like these two are the first females that you had ever set your sights on."

"Very true. There are many lovely ladies waiting for me in the South, if I remember correctly."

"You do. They have asked me about your return." Yuriko made a sour face.

"What's with the face? Are there so many?" Shippou sat up straight and puffed up his chest.

"No. I just cannot understand your taste in females. Simpering, delicate ninnies. Every one of them."

"That's just the way they are, Yuriko."

Snapping her head around to glare at him, Yuriko felt her hands clench around the reins. "What is wrong with having a thought other then being beautiful and well dressed?"

Blinking in confusion, Shippou leaned away. "Nothing!"

"Then why would you not consider a female like that?"

"I never said I wouldn't! I just can't remember seeing any ladies that were like that."

"That does it!" Yuriko hauled off and knocked Shippou right off of the dragon. "Are you blind or just stupid?"

"Oh, ow." Shippou rolled over and looked up at the irate warrior and her dragon.

"Well?"

"I'm not blind, so I must be stupid." Rubbing his head, the kitsune sat up. "What the hell was that for?"

"You are such an idiot."

As Ah-Un took off after the others, Katsuro came bounding up to him. "What did you do?"

"I'm not sure." Groaning a bit as he stood up, Shippou shook dirt out of his clothes.

"You had to have done something pretty bad. She's pissed."

"We were just talking! She doesn't like my taste in females, so she knocked me off Ah-Un!"

"Nani?" Katsuro blinked. "What does your taste in females have to do with anything?"

"I don't know. She said all the ladies that were after me were ninnies, and I said that's what they're like. Then she got angry and started yelling about giving other kinds of ladies a chance, and I told her I didn't know any like that . . . "

"You didn't. Oh, Shippou, you idiot." Laughing, Katsuro took off after the disappearing group.

"Hey! Why am I an idiot this time?" Shippou kept pace easily, used to running with his best friend.

"You're dense. You know that, right?"

"Just spill it already!"

"You insulted her. You said that you wouldn't consider her as a female."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"It's Yuriko! What does she care what I think about . . . "

Katsuro snorted. "Are you catching up now?"

"She wants me to see her that way?"

"If I've figured it out, it has to be pretty obvious. Especially after the stupid or blind question."

"Yuriko? Are you sure? Since when did she go all girly on us?"

"All girly? She knocked you off Ah-Un and left you to walk."

"Okay, not totally girly, but you know what I mean!"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because Merkamou isn't watching her so closely."

"Maybe." Shippou followed Katsuro as they leapt across a river. "What am I going to do?"

"No clue."

----


	85. Rescue Mission

A/N: I've always disliked it when I'm reading a story and the author gives a detailed explanation of how much life has sucked and that's why it's taken so long. Sure, I mentioned the concussion thing, but that was important, since I'm beta-less and I stood a better then average chance of making no sense. With that in mind, just take my word on it that something went very wrong and this was the soonest I could post. The good news is that the other chapter is pretty much done and if I can finish editing tonight I'll put it up. These two should be one chapter, but it got too long. Go figure. To everyone that has e-mailed me or tried to contact me, I'm sorry I've been such a slacker. I'll try to get caught up (especially GPPR, I'll get back to you, I promise!) To my readers, this chapter was brutal to write and the next looks pretty evil, too, but I will finish. Promise. I want to know what happens too! The voices don't like to give it away.

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"The home of a ningen lord. What would they take Mama for?" Katsuro crouched next to his father, staring at the complex that Sesshomaru was certain held his mate.

"There is no reasonable explanation." Sesshomaru's eyes traveled across the complex. His mind was going through the logical steps of planning his attack while his heart frantically searched for its other half. 'I am coming, koishii. I will find you and never let this happen again.'

"And when did any part of this whole thing become reasonable?"

The gold eyes blinked. Despite the grim situation, he could find the humor in his son's statement. "True."

The hanyou tipped his head to the side. "Should be easy enough to get in. The walls are low enough we can just jump right over. The big question is who's inside? How's Mama doing?"

"Anxious, but unharmed."

"Is that the polite way of saying pissed off and impatiently waiting for us?"

"Hn."

"At least that's something. Should we just charge in? They can't be expecting us this soon."

"I will not risk Kagome."

"Good point. Sneaky it is." Silent as a shadow, Katsuro turned and jumped away. He returned to the rest of the party and to pass along what he had seen.

'Whoever is responsible will die a slow, painful death.' Claws sunk into wood as Sesshomaru gazed at the place where his mate was being held.

----

"He's here."

Takanou snapped his head up to look at the miko. Kagome smiled, despite the fact that she was still bound in a cell. "He's here, and he's really, really pissed."

"I wanted him to come here."

"What, are you suicidal?"

"Of course not. It just makes things easier. If the two of you are together then I can free you." Takanou gestured for a group of ningens. The door to the cell was opened, and the ningens were knocked back with a barrier. "I will wait, Kagome. I have plenty of ningens here, and eventually you will be too tired to fight anymore. No youkai would dare to touch you, but all you can do to a ningen is knock them back."

Kagome hurled the ningens against the wall hard enough to knock them unconcious. "Good luck getting more volunteers."

"When you are ready to accept the inevitable, they will escort you upstairs. I will be waiting."

'Damn it all to hell!' Kagome knocked the new ningens away, but she already knew she was in trouble. 'When was the last time I really ate? Or slept, for that matter? I'm not going to last more then a few minutes. You better hurry, jo-chan.'

----

"Can he tell where she's being held?" Yuriko checked over Ah-Un's tack, getting him ready for yet another fight.

"No, not at this distance. We're going to have to figure that one out as we go. We don't want them to kill her rather then have us rescue her." Katsuro was pacing restlessly, impatient to know that his mother was safe again. "Damn, I need Ki-chan right now. This is exactly what she's best at."

"We will work without her. I am no slouch at strategy." Mayu smiled and ruffled Katsuro's hair.

"Oh, come on, you know I hate that." Katsuro ducked away. "I hated that when I was five."

"If you insist."

"Sneak attack. Only Sesshomaru needs to be sneaky, since he's the only one that's going to be able to find her." Shippou tapped a claw against his chin. "What if the rest of us arrange a distraction?"

There was a soft rustle of leaves, making Katsuro spin around. Sesshomaru was gone. "Damn it all, strategy meeting is over. We'll get Mama, you make sure that they don't see us coming!"

'As soon as Mama is in danger he starts doing irrational things.' Grinding his teeth, Katsuro chased his father. 'I thought I was the impulsive one.'

Sesshomaru stopped at the edge of the trees, glaring at his son. "I did not ask for your presence."

"I know."

"Go with the others."

"No."

Growling, father and son locked eyes in a battle of wills. The gold eyes were tinged with crimson, but Katsuro stood his ground. The emerald eyes never wavered, even when Sesshomaru's hand went to Tokijin. With a fleeting look of exasperation, the inu-youkai continued towards the wall and let his son follow after him. Katsuro heaved a relieved sigh as he dropped the aggressive stance and chased after his father. 'Thought he was going to knock me out that time.'

It was a matter of seconds for the rescue party to reach the walls. The two inu watched the guards patrolling the edges of the complex for a few moments, looking for their opportunity to get in without notice. They would not give Kagome's captor time to react. The poison whip flashed into existence, cutting two of them down without a sound. Nodding to each other, the pair jumped to the top of the wall. From there they dropped down to the ground inside, crouching down in the shadows to avoid detection.

An explosion rocked the buildings and yelling could be heard at the main gate.

"Our distraction is here." Katsuro grinned as she heard Yuriko's voice raised in a war cry, sending the ningen guards into a panic. "She sounds like she's going to eat them raw."

"Hai."

The complete chaos made it easy for the inu to move through the buildings. Sesshomaru followed the tug that was getting stronger as he got closer to the source. There was a smell in the air, a smell he had not sensed in over two hundred years. The closer he got to his other half, the stronger the scent became. Katsuro glanced at his father, seeing the barely suppressed rage and not at all sure he liked the way this was going. Sesshomaru ripped a door clean off of its rails, staring inside of a room and finally finding his mate.

"So you made it, Sesshomaru-sama."

----

"Kee – yah!"

Yuriko dove at the gates again, making as much noise as possible while Ah-Un made a fantastic show of blowing up everything around him. On the ground Mayu charged in her leopard form, stopping to roar loud enough to make the walls rattle.

"We have to hold the wall!" One of the guards yelled to his quaking forces, trying to keep them from fleeing in a blind panic.

"Foxfire!" Shippou released a huge ball of blue fire, aiming for the one brave soul.

"Run for your lives!"

Mass panic ensued as the guards tried to flee. Merkamou stood by Shippou, not even bothering to attack. "This is rather amusing."

"Well, we're not exactly looking at a group at their best. We trounced them yesterday, remember?" The kitsune watched the stampede with a smile.

"That is true. It is a bit cruel to frighten them like this, considering what they have been through."

Shippou raised an eyebrow at his lord. "They attacked us, remember?"

"Also true. Maybe you could encourage them to hasten their retreat."

"Foxfire!"

"I thought we were supposed to be drawing them towards the gate, not chasing them off!" Yuriko dipped down to glare at the two males.

Merkamou and Shippou looked at each other. "Oops."

"Males. Mayu, we need to herd them back!"

A roar was the response, Mayu running around the outside of the complex. There were screams of panic as the guard turned and ran the opposite direction, away from the leopard and back towards the gate. Ah-Un convinced any stragglers to race back the way they had come, even if there were two more youkai waiting for them.

----

"You." Sesshomaru stood in the remains of the doorway, his hand clenched around the hilt of Tokijin. "I will ensure that you die this time."

"You know him?" Katsuro looked at the youkai that had his mother bound on the ground in front of him.

"Of course he knows me. I was once a member of his household." Takanou smiled brightly. "I was hoping you would come. It will be easier this way."

Even gagged, Kagome had no trouble letting her mate know what was coming. Sesshomaru got a very brief but clear image of the threat that Takanou had planned for him. The youkai hidden in the next room never had a chance as Tokijin blasted away the far wall and the enemies hidden behind it.

"How the . . . Oh, Mama must have known." Sighing with relief, Katsuro strolled into the room as Sesshomaru went to his bound mother. "You should ungag her first. I'm sure she's got plenty to say about this."

"Get away from her." Takanou lunged forward, only to be knocked off of his feet by an almost casual swing from the hanyou.

"This is the leader? How embarrassing." Katsuro stayed over Takanou, shaking his head in disappointment. "You'll have to tell me how he knows you later."

"Koishii." The ropes and gag were gone in an instant and Kagome found herself in Sesshomaru's arms.

"We need to get out of here." Her voice was muffled by his hair, but she knew he could understand her. "Right now."

"First I finish this."

"I'll take care of him, father." Katsuro shifted his grip on his weapon.

"Insolent pup." Takanou threw a powder in Katsuro's face, making him gasp and back up. "You are not going anywhere, Kagome!"

Katsuro's eyes were squeezed shut with tears leaking out from underneath them. His ears told him exactly where Takanou was, and he barreled into the healer. "You stay away from her!"

Twisting, Takanou was able to break away from the blind hanyou. A long set of gashes were torn into the healer's side as a price for his escape, but the hanyou was reeling from more then blindness. Takanou grabbed onto the black hair, hauling his opponent's head back. Katsuro froze when he felt a dagger at his throat. He could smell poison, and he had no interest in seeing if any of his father's immunity to poison had been inherited.

Kagome had thrown up a barrier around herself and her mate, swaying at the effort. Outside of the barrier she could see that Takanou had Katsuro, keeping the hanyou in front of himself. "What did you do to my son?"

"Nothing permanent. At least not at this time. Drop the barrier before I finish off your brat."

Kagome dropped her barrier, biting her lip in frustration. She could not do anything while he was touching her half youkai son. "Leave Katsuro out of this. He wasn't even born when all of this started."

"As long as he does not interfere, I will not harm him further." Takanou was hauling the blind and confused Katsuro along with him as he approached the miko. "This is perfect. I can free you, Kagome. You can be with me."

Sesshomaru snapped Tokijin up, but froze when Takanou pushed his son between them.

"Do you remember?" Kagome grabbed onto her mate's arm and thought hard about the day they had found out about their bond, praying that Sesshomaru would remember what she was remembering.

_It is a tribute to Sesshomaru-sama's strength that he is still alive._

"Trust me." Kagome slipped around him. "Leave him alone, Takanou. I'm right here. Just leave my son alone."

Takanou kept his grip on Katsuro, moving closer to Kagome. "No tricks?"

"None."

The healer's empty hand went to his sash and reappeared with a packet of powder. A dark smile twisted his features as he threw it at Kagome and her world exploded.

----

"How long do we have to keep this up?" Shippou dodged a spear, growling at the attacking ningen.

"Until we hear that Kagome-sama is safe." Merkamou sent a whirlwind to knock some soldiers from their perches on the wall.

"I'm tired of just standing here and letting them take shots at me!"

"Perhaps you would like a real opponent?"

The ningens scrambled away from the new comers, who were crouched over the gate and smiling at the two youkai outside.

"And who the hell are you?" Shippou crossed his arms and leveled his best threatening look.

"We are in charge. I assume that you are here to rescue the Lady of the West?"

"Yeah! Are you gonna' try to stop us?"

A group of youkai dropped to the ground, all dressed in identical armor. "Try? I do not think this will require even that much effort, kitsune."

"And why are you holding the Lady of the West?" Merkamou glanced across the group. "If I am not mistaken, you are from the Eastern Lands."

"And why would that concern you, Merkamou?" The strange youkai looked the hawk up and down. "Perhaps you and the little miko are closer then rumored."

"If you do not know why you are holding her, that is all you need to say."

The leader's complexion darkened. "You are outnumbered, hawk. You would do well to shut your mouth."

The youkai were sent flying in all directions as the taiyoukai they had forgotten plunged through their midst, scattering them like grains of rice.

"Arigato, Mayu-sama! I was in serious danger of being talked to death." Merkamou drew his sword, noting that Shippou had echoed his move. The gold eyes glanced at the sky, tracking movement. "I do not believe we are outnumbered."

One of the downed youkai disappeared in an explosion as Ah-Un returned to the front of the complex. Yuriko looked over the new threat with her free hand on her hip. "I leave you alone for just a few moments, Papa."

"Enough, Yuriko."

----

Raw power exploded, sending Takanou skittering backwards and away from the miko. All of the power that had gone into the bond was suddenly free to swirl around its owner with no focus or control. Her control continued to slip, feeding more and more power into the growing storm.

For her part, the miko had her eyes squeezed shut, trying to regain some semblance of control as the world spun. Her heart ached as the bond leaked away, leaving her feeling like she was bleeding to death. The youki that Sesshomaru had fed into their bond was also free, still mingled with her powers and adding to the chaos.

Desperate, Kagome reached behind herself, meeting Sesshomaru halfway as he pulled her up against his chest. His youki continued to drain into the inferno, feeding it. Wrapping his arms around her, he desperately tried to keep their connection intact. He ignored the pain that came with the spiritual powers all around him, certain that she could not actually hurt him.

With the physical contact the bond between them stopped failing. The connection was weak, but it was there.

'I knew Takanou couldn't do it. He could never understand this, much less break it.' Kagome let her head fall back to lean on Sesshomaru's chest. 'I'll never let you go, jo-chan.'

'And I will never release you.'

'Nani?' Kagome's eyes flew open, meeting the gold ones that looked down at her. She could feel him like a solid wall of support behind her. She could also feel his relief at her safety, and his annoyance that her powers were still snapping across his skin in a most uncomfortable manner. The tiniest of smiles tugged at her mouth. 'Gomen.'

'Then cease, miko.'

'What do you think I'm trying to do, youkai?'

One eyebrow cocked, and Kagome's smile grew as their bond continued to restore itself. The rest of the world was a vague haze as the storm raged around them, their two powers recombining violently. The bond that had taken over two hundred years to build was recreating itself in a matter of minutes. She could feel herself fading, exhaustion tugging at her, but she could also feel him so clearly now. Every thought was shared. 'This is kind of neat. Scary, but neat.'

'Hai.'

----

Takanou stared in horror at the storm, almost forgetting the hanyou that he held captive. 'What have I done? What have I released? I cannot finish this, I would never survive. How can Sesshomaru still exist in that?'

He could only see the vague silhouettes of the couple at the center of the inferno. 'It did not work. She is still bound to that dog. That is the only way he could survive. He will hunt me down and kill me. He could even force Kagome to help.'

Frantic, the healer looked around the room. 'I will run. They cannot track me, I know that. As long as I can get a head start, I will be able to escape.'

With a hard shove, he pushed his captive into the storm so that he could bolt for the door.

----

"Come along now, at least make this entertaining for me." Merkamou smirked as he rocked on the balls of his feet, taunting the group of dragons that had surrounded him.

One took the bait and lunged, earning himself a blow to his back that dropped him like a stone. The second one to move was caught and thrown into a friend, knocking both to the ground. The pommel of Merkamou's sword connected with another's dragon's face and sent that dragon to the back of the group.

Shippou smiled at the pair of youkai that was advancing on him, both confident that the little kitsune would not be a problem. One of the mischievous green eyes winked as he threw a handful of pebbles in the air.

"And what was that supposed to . . . Ah!"

Giant boulders crashed to earth, sending the two youkai running for cover. The slower of the two found himself tossed to the ground, his arm locked behind him. Still smiling, the kitsune slammed his sword through his opponent and finished him.

A quick glance showed Shippou that his other opponent had made a run for it, but only to be brought down by a giant snow leopard.

"Arigato, Mayu-sama!"

Mayu roared, then transformed to her usual form, still holding her prey down. "I am in need of information, lizard."

"I will never talk, bitch."

"Expected." Mayu patted over her clothes, mumbling to herself, until she found a small, sheathed stiletto. "I knew I had remembered to bring this. You should do yourself a favor and start talking now."

"Never."

Sighing, Mayu jammed the stiletto deep into her opponent's back. "Nasty, is it not? I am told that it is similar to Sesshomaru-sama's poison, but it takes longer to die. I will wait.'

The dragon howled and struggled, babbling as he tried to free himself.

"Just cooperate already."

Chest heaving, the dragon went limp. "What do you want to know?"

"Why did you target the Ladies?"

"The miko was the price for Takanou's armies. The dragon was for my lord Tsuki, so that he may regain power of the East. The hanyou was for the Southern armies, who wish for revenge on Merkamou."

"And me?"

"To try to control Hideaki. Tsuki-sama will rule all of Japan, taking advantage of the distracted Lords."

"It did not work."

"Even now he is consolidating his power. Akira is dead, and the miko is our prisoner."

"You are a fool. Sesshomaru-sama is freeing his mate as we speak, and Akira still lives." Mayu used her free hand to draw her sword. "Your Tsuki will not last to the new moon."

The sword flashed, and the dragon was silent.

"Treacherous lizard." Mayu resheathed the stiletto and tucked it back into her armor.

A bright glow lit up the complex, pulling many eyes towards its source.

"Yuriko, Shippou, go to Kagome and Sesshomaru!" Merkamou crossed blades with a dragon again and knocked him back in a shower of sparks.

"But Papa, what about you?" Knocking her own opponent aside, Yuriko dove down near her father.

"Now, Yuriko!"

"Ah-Un!"

The two heads swiveled around to regard their rider.

"Keep the wall clear! Don't let them shoot at Papa!" Dropping to the ground, Yuriko snagged Shippou by the back of his collar and took off towards the pink glow.

"Hey! Where are we going?"

"We have to help Kagome-chan!"


	86. Misplaced Lady

A/N: And here is the other half. A little short, yeah, but it's just the other half. I just noticed, I'm over 1,000 reviews! You guys ROCK! Oh, and Lyn Green Tea, you're so awesome. How many months now? You're nuts.

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Shippou and Yuriko stood outside of the door, staring in horror at the scene in front of them. A youkai had an unresisting Katsuro with a dagger at his throat, watching as violent power swirled around Kagome and Sesshomaru.

Evidently the stranger had seen enough. Shoving Katsuro into the inferno that still raged around the couple, he bolted for the door.

Even through the haze Kagome could see her son falling into the chaos, could hear him cry out and disappear in the storm.

'No!' The two minds cried out in unison as they saw their son fall, unable to stop the destruction.

"No! Katsuro!" Shippou struggled against Yuriko, trying to push his way into the room that was a storm of energy.

"Stop it, Shippou!" It was almost more then Yuriko could handle, to see Katsuro disappear in burst of spiritual energy and to hold Shippou back from the same fate. "You would be purified out of existence! It would not do any good for you to die!"

"Let me go! Katsuro!"

"Not this time." Kagome and Sesshomaru spoke in an eerie unison, both pairs of eyes open, aware, and locked on the fleeing Takanou. A barrier blocked the youkai's escape, and he slowly turned to look at the source of the storm.

The hawk realized what was coming, and instinct took over.

"Run!" Yuriko shoved Shippou hard, forcing him to flee as the combined power in the room flared. "They are going to destroy everything!"

As they ran the building behind them went incandescent, then exploded. Debris sprayed everywhere, knocking the fleeing pair to the ground.

Shippou sat up slowly, shaking his head. "Kagome? Katsuro?"

Kagome was being held up by Sesshomaru, standing in the epicenter of the destruction. Fury spent, the storm had faded to nothing and left the miko and her mate exhausted.

"Katsuro." Shippou broke away from Yuriko and ran through the rubble.

There was nothing left of Takanou but some ash, and Kagome could not force herself to look for what was left of her son. She stayed against her mate, unable to even force her eyes back open. 'I killed him. I killed him.'

'You did nothing of the sort.'

'I did. He died because of my spiritual powers. Your youki didn't kill him.'

Sesshomaru tightened his grip around Kagome. 'The healer harmed him, not you.'

'But . . . '

'No. You did not kill him. The healer unleashed a power he could not control, and sacrificed Katsuro to escape.'

Slowly, the miko lifted her head to look up at the taiyoukai. 'I can still hear you.'

'Another trip to Bokusenou may be in order. And do not give up on your son so easily.'

"Katsuro! Where are you? Katsuro!"

Shippou followed his nose through the debris, shoving the remains of the building away. Underneath he found a badly burned, very still hanyou.

"Wake up! Say something!" Shippou grabbed his friend by the shoulders and gave him a hard shake.

"This is the lousiest day I've ever had." Katsuro's voice was a croak as he blinked slowly, his eyes unfocused. "And quit that."

"You're alive! Do you know who I am?"

"From the smell and annoying voice it's got to be Shippou."

"Hey!" The kitsune dropped his friend none too gently. "You're looking right at me!"

"Doesn't mean I can see you. Or much of anything else."

"Katsuro!" Kagome flattened her son, hugging him as tightly as she could. "How? It's impossible! You should've been purified!"

"It sure felt like I was. I'm still feeling pretty singed. Ow." Katsuro ran a hand over his own face, flinching at the burns he found. "I guess having a miko for a mother has its benefits."

"Unless of course she loses control while her son is in the room and almost kills him. I wish there was enough left of Takanou to bring him back and kill him again for this!"

"Mama, don't. Really. I'm the baka that let him throw that in my face and make me helpless. It wasn't just being blind, something in it confused me so much I couldn't really fight. The good news is that when you blew up the building you fixed that little problem. I'm not confused anymore. Singed, but not confused."

Kagome let go and sat up to wave a hand in front of her son's face. "But you still can't see?"

"Not a damn thing. What did he use on me?"

"You will heal." Sesshomaru knelt down to peer at his son's eyes. "It will be a few days."

"Days? Oh, I hope Ki-chan doesn't come back until this is over." Katsuro sat up slowly, his ears swiveling. "Yuriko?"

"Right here." The little hawk moved closer.

"What's going on with your father out front?"

"Papa!"

----

A building exploded, the bright glow making the complex as clear as day.

All three of Merkamou's opponents turned to stare in wonder at the show of power.

"Baka."

A punch dropped one to the ground, while the other two were blasted away by a wall of wind. A sword flashed into existence, finishing the downed dragon before turning to face his partners. "What kind of a warrior is distracted by a flash of light?"

"Flash of light? You did not sense what that was?" The dragons stood a short distance away, watching both the taiyoukai and the now dark complex.

"It would seem Sesshomaru-sama has freed Kagome-sama. You may wish to flee now."

The dragons hesitated. "Do not be ridiculous. We will not run from a ningen."

"It is your funeral."

The two dragons transformed, catching Merkamou off guard. 'Damn, I did not think they were strong enough to transform.' When they blasted the area with poison he flashed away, taking to the sky for refuge. Once clear of the toxic gas he changed to his hawk form and screamed a challenge.

His opponents took the offer, chasing him through the nighttime sky.

'Ingenious, Merkamou. Two dragons chasing you and not a soul to fly in and assist. Very clever. Since I am not in the mood to be poisoned today I will need to do this carefully.' The hawk spun to blast fire at his opponents. The dragons swerved away, but showed no signs of retreating. They split up to circle around the hawk, trying to trap him.

'Youngsters always think they are so clever.' The sharp gold eyes tracked a streak of white. 'They will never see this coming.'

Lightening ripped across the sky, hitting one of the dragons in the side. Howling, it dropped to earth.

A second bolt completely missed the remaining dragon and instead sent Merkamou fluttering backwards. An undignified screech was shot at the older taiyoukai.

"This is not exactly something that can be done with complete accuracy, Merkamou-sama." Mayu was not successful in hiding her smile. "I suggest you get out of the way. You can never be too sure where lightening will hit."

Still hissing, the hawk dove away so that there was some distance between himself and Mayu's prey. The sky lit up as Mayu called more lightening down, this time hitting her target. The dragon snarled and dropped closer to the ground, but refused to accept defeat. Merkamou circled in closer to try and convince the dragon with a blast of flame.

The dragon tried to make a break for it, but Merkamou was having none of that and chased him down. Another blast of flames herded the dragon back towards Mayu, who was impatiently waiting for her partner to get out of the way. "If you wish to keep your fancy feathers unharmed, MOVE!"

----

Kagome started snickering when she topped the wall around the lord's home and heard Mayu's yell. The leopard had her best mother's voice in use, and Merkamou did an effective eye roll even as a hawk. Of course, the two taiyoukai had never gotten along. Mayu thought the hawk was rude and brash, while Merkamou called Mayu a 'nosy know-it-all'. Even this much cooperation amazed the miko.

"What are they doing?" Katsuro's ears moved constantly as he tried to discover what he could not see.

"Oh, not much. Just arguing over who gets to kill the last dragon." Kagome bit her lip to stop laughing, but it just didn't work.

"Second to last." Sesshomaru gestured to the downed dragon that was moving again. "I would expect Merkamou to forget a downed opponent, but it is surprising in Mayu."

"She's too busy arguing with Merkamou." Kagome glanced around. "Yuriko-chan, can you see any bows around?"

"I believe so." Yuriko handed Katsuro off to Shippou and whistled for Ah-Un. The dragon left off harassing the remaining ningen forces to race over and catch Yuriko as she dropped off the wall. The pair swooped down on a small group of archers that were distracted by the battle outside of their walls. There were some yelps of protest as a bow and quiver were snatched away and delivered to the waiting miko.

"Arigato, Yuriko-chan!" An arrow was quickly nocked, aiming at the forgotten dragon that was now on his feet. "Mayu-sama, move!"

----

The sound of Kagome's voice giving an order made Mayu swivel around to stare. Her eyes locked on the dragon that was now looming over her, her every muscle going tight. A flash of pink was her warning and sent her running for cover. The arrow hit its target and a pink glow spread over its body as it howled and thrashed.

Merkamou attacked the still air borne dragon while it was distracted, driving it down to the ground. The howls stopped as a final flash of lightening lit up the sky, finishing off all of the youkai except for the hawk's prey.

"Stay here." Sesshomaru gave Kagome a look that was not meant to be argued with and dropped to the ground.

"Bastard." Kagome folded her arms and glared.

Merkamou was still mantling over his prey, glaring at the taiyoukai that was approaching.

"Merkamou-sama."

The hawk stared for a moment longer before backing away from the dragon and transforming to his usual form.

"There is no point in questioning him." Mayu came up from the other side, glaring at the dragon. "I already know why they are here and who they answer to."

"Hn."

"Go ahead and kill me, dog. Your time is at an end." The weakened dragon had transformed to his smaller form, but continued to glare at Sesshomaru.

"They are from some lord in the East who is trying to take over." Mayu already looked bored, her attention back on the focus of the rescue mission. "I take it that Kagome-sama is fine?"

"My daughter and her mate have already gone to the East. Your lord's attempt has failed." Sesshomaru took the dragon's suggestion and finished him with one stroke from Tokijin.

"Mate? When did that happen?" Mayu whipped her head back around to stare at the inu-youkai.

"They were not mated when they left, were they?" Merkamou tapped a talon against his lips. "I may not have the nose that the dogs do, but it is usually quite easy to tell a mated pair."

"I certainly did not think they were mated. You would think someone would tell me that my grandson has taken a mate. Why am I the last to know?"

"Sesshomaru-sama, when did this happen?"

"It has not happened yet." Sheathing Tokijin, Sesshomaru stalked away to retrieve his mate and son.

"If it was anyone but Sesshomaru, I would fear for his life if Mizuki-san ever found out about that." Merkamou swept a look around the complex, quiet now as the ningens hid inside. "Now that we have recovered the misplaced Lady, what is the plan?"

"We go to the East. I will not stand by as my son's lands are stolen." The leopard tapped her foot impatiently. "This Tsuki creature is a bother and needs to be taken care of."

"Agreed, but we need to drop Katsuro off at the exterminator's village." Kagome walked over to the group and grabbed onto Katsuro's sleeve before he bumped into his father. "He had a little run in with a psychotic former healer."

"Mama, could you stop jerking me around? There's nothing wrong with my ears." Said ears were pinned flat against the hanyou's head as he glared in the general direction of his mother.

"Oh, Katsuro." Mayu pulled his face around so she could examine him. "Nasty little concoction, I can still smell it on him. We must take him somewhere safe."

"Still not deaf, still standing right here."

Kagome freed her son from the well meaning taiyoukai. "We'll split up, send some back to the village with Katsuro and some can go East. I'm going after Mizuki-chan, so that means Sesshomaru is going."

"I am going, too." Mayu took two aggressive steps, then fainted dead away.

"Damn it all!" Merkamou caught Mayu for the second time in as many days.

"She has pushed herself too hard again. I do not think she has recovered from yesterday, and here she is in battle again. Let's get her onto Ah-Un." Yuriko took Mayu's other arm. "With any luck she will not wake until she is safe with Hideaki-sama."

"Yuriko-chan, can you and Shippou take these two back? I would like to assist Sesshomaru-sama and Kagome-sama." Merkamou secured Mayu as best he could to the two-headed dragon.

"Hai, Papa." Looking suitably disgruntled, Yuriko took Katsuro's arm. "Let's get this one loaded."

"Still not deaf!"

"Fine, fine, Katsuro. You're not deaf." Shippou took over for Yuriko as the hanyou in question dug in his heels and refused to move. "Just get on Ah-Un so we can get you to a healer before your sister gets home."

Katsuro had no problem sniffing out Ah-Un and climbing on without disrupting Mayu.

"Knew that would get him. We'll tell everyone at the village where you are, and we may even be able to send some more help."

"Be careful, you guys." Kagome sagged against Sesshomaru as she watched the party heading back to the village. 'I hope they'll be okay. Yuriko and Shippou can take care of everything, right? Right.'

'They will be fine.'

"Hey! Knock that off, you . . . you . . . you . . . eavesdropper!" Kagome whirled around to glare at her mate.

"Then stop thinking while touching me."

"It's going to take a while until I get used to this one. In the mean time, keep your mind to it's self!"

"I take it that you two had more of an adventure then you planned on?" Merkamou looked positively delighted with the squabbling pair.

A threatening index finger was waved at Merkamou. "Don't start with me, trouble maker. I've got enough to deal with already."

"Very true. The heavens alone know what Mizuki-san and Seiji-san have walked into."

----

"This is the most foolish plan I have ever participated in."

Mizuki was hidden in the brush with Seiji, watching the home of the Lord and Lady of the East.

"You did not wish to try my plan." The dragon glanced at his partner out of the corner of his eye.

"Having me seduce the guards into opening the gate was not foolish, it was absurd in the extreme. I prefer foolish."

"Come now, Mizuki-san. Just flash them a come hither look with . . . "

"You would do well to not finish that statement."

"Perhaps it would be more effective if you would not size everyone up as though they are prey."

Mizuki resorted to a tactic that worked well with her brother. She smacked Seiji in the back of the head.

"So I take it that we are proceeding as we had originally discussed?"

"Hai."

"Then I will go and initiate our foolish plan. And Mizuki-san, one last thing."

"What is that, Seiji-san?"

"Do not die."

Mizuki swallowed hard. "And why not?"

"I shudder to think what my parents may suggest should you need to be replaced."

The sapphire eyes narrowed even as a small smile tugged at her lips. "Seiji-san?"

"Hai, Mizuki-san."

"Nobody is allowed to kill you but me. Understood?"

Seiji echoed her smile. "Understood, Commander."

"I am serious."

Leaning in close enough to ruffle her hair with his breath, he whispered. "Be careful, Mizuki."

Mizuki's eyes slipped shut as she clenched her hands into fists, trying to ignore the way her heart had accelerated.

"Good luck, Seiji."


	87. Teamwork

A/N: I live! My muse has been very fussy. I think she wanted the summer off or something. I managed to wrangle another chapter from her, though, so here it is. I don't know why this one was so evil to write, but it was. Block after block after block. But, snuggles to all of my reviewers that keep goading me on. It certainly keeps me motivated. Enjoy! Oh, haven't managed to acquire anything in my absence.

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'It definitely feels odd to challenge the gate of my own home.'

Seiji gazed at his family's home with a cold expression. The walls were rippling with movement as the guards noticed him, just standing there and glaring at them.

"This is my mother's home. Open the gates immediately."

The guards stared, slack jawed. Slowly, snickers and some out right laughter spread through the ranks.

"Demands, Seiji-sama? I see no army with you. Your mother is dead, and you cannot demand anything." A lieutenant smiled, baring his fangs. "Go back to the West and see if the ningen lovers there will help you."

"I do not need assistance. Open the gate now or I will kill each and every one of you."

Hundreds of guards burst out laughing, pushing to see the crazed dragon that was challenging them all.

"Is that so, Seiji-sama? Here, then. I will open the gates." The lieutenant turned and yelled an order.

'Well, this is what I wanted.' Seiji waited, looking unconcerned as a mob of soldiers charged out of the now open gate. 'I hope she is half as clever as they say she is.'

----

Shou let out a soft growl as the roar on the other side of the palace grew louder. Mizuki could hear the doors creak open, and the sounds of a group of soldiers rushing out.

"Easy, sleepy one. He can handle this group."

The little dragon gave her a pointed stare.

"I will not let him get killed."

The mother of pearl eyes narrowed.

"I would not abandon an ally like that. Not even him."

Snort.

"He assured me that he could handle any of the soldiers thrown at him long enough for us to finish our mission. I have no choice but to believe his boasting."

The sounds of battle tapered away. In the silence Mizuki could just pick out Seiji's voice calling up to the walls. "Do not insult me."

"See, Shou? He sounds quite healthy."

The lieutenant snarled another order and more forces thundered through the doors. It sounded like hundreds of soldiers had left the palace to charge the lone taiyoukai that had challenged them.

Shou tightened his claws on Mizuki's shoulder as the sounds of battle began again.

"Just a moment. We do not want to move too quickly." Seeing the dragon's look, Mizuki gave a small smile. "And I wish for him to be anxious for our assistance."

The dragon's rolling eyes said more then words could.

"Oh, very well. Seiji-san has done his part. They are distracted, divided, and off guard. Now we can do ours."

Mizuki slipped out of the brush and moved towards the palace. The walls were much too high for Mizuki to simply jump up, but Shou gave her a lift and she dropped to the top of the wall unnoticed, her partner once again tucked under her hair. Her naginata was in her hands as she moved along the wall. The guards had abandoned their posts, leaving the back of the palace vulnerable.

The night before Seiji had given Mizuki a rough idea of how the palace was laid out, with a particular emphasis on kitchen supplies. The stairs down to the ground were just where he had described, and the shed that housed the supplies was within easy striking distance of the wall. The hanyou slipped across the grounds without being spotted and let herself into the shed. Inside she found barrels of oil, perfect for what she had in mind.

'Chaos and destruction. It seems that shatei has influenced me.' Mizuki grabbed a barrel and punched a hole into the side. "Shou, you will want to leave very quickly after I set this off."

The little dragon dropped to the ground and waited by the door, ready to leap through it to safety.

Oil was tossed all about the building, and Mizuki pulled a barrel over to the door. A single spark sent the mess up in flames, leaving the hanyou feeling singed as she leapt after the now massive Shou with the last barrel of oil.

The explosions had the guards completely off balance. Instead of cheering on the fight out front, they were diving for cover as anything flammable in storage exploded. A new opponent was raining destruction from above, ice shards slicing through anything in their path. A second building went up in flames as the unnoticed hanyou slipped into another building and lit her last barrel of oil.

"Put out the fires, you morons!"

Some of the soldiers scrambled for water while others scrambled for cover. The noise outside was dying down as parts of the force tried to return to the palace and help. The next building to ignite was started with nothing more then a few overturned lamps. The forces were running from threat to threat, any attempt at order and control gone.

Mizuki made her way up to the top of the wall, allowing herself a small smile at the chaos that she had caused. Five buildings were now burning out of control while Shou continued to destroy anything he could reach. Out front Seiji was still surrounded by his enemy.

"You!" A soldier had finally spotted her, and he came at a run with two of his comrades. "Who the hell are you?"

The naginata reappeared in her hands as she stood as still as a statue, waiting for her opponents to come to her. Behind her three attackers there were more as word spread of the strange female that was obviously helping Seiji.

Mizuki did not answer as she sliced through her enemies, her expression never changing.

----

'I need to have a word with that bitch on her timing.' Seiji was still growling as he cut through his opponents. Mizuki had waited until he was completely surrounded and under attack before she started to blow up the palace.

The odds were still not in his favor. Shou and Mizuki had pulled many of the soldiers back into the palace, but the guards around Seiji were starting to reorganize. 'No, this is not going well.'

A lucky hit sliced through his arm to the bone, making him snarl. The crowd cheered and swarmed.

"Finish him! Finish him!"

----

One white ear flicked back, the eyes losing some of their razor sharp focus. Mizuki could hear the change outside. The once disorganized mess now sounded like a very optimistic mob.

Another youkai's head fell to the ground even as she whistled for Shou. Mizuki searched, but there was no sign of Seiji in the midst of his enemy. He might as well be dead for all she knew. She did not consider what she was doing, or develop even a rudimentary plan. She just leapt for her partner, then down to that dragon.

The chaos and press of bodies was almost more then Mizuki could deal with. She had never been fond of fighting in close quarters, and now she was crushed on all sides by creatures that would really prefer it if she died. Someone landed a hit on her leg, almost sending her to the ground. She whipped around, but could not move her weapon.

The naginata was a hindrance and she resorted to her katana and claws. The first to drop with gashes that glowed green with poison made the group draw back. Her eyes were touched with crimson as she glared, daring them to attack her. Dragons were usually resistant to poison, but Sesshomaru's poison burned through them like acid. Mizuki was having the same effect.

The shifting mob revealed a very cross but mostly unharmed taiyoukai.

"And since when was this a part of your plan?"

"Excuse me?" Mizuki twisted so her back was to his, covering each other's blind spot.

"I thought you were supposed to be destroying my home."

"I need to leave something for your family to return to." Another youkai collapsed with a sucking hole where his throat used to be.

"I thought the plan was to cause as much chaos as possible, then go right for Tsuki."

"Do you believe that we have caused as much chaos as possible?" Mizuki could not see anything past the mob of soldiers.

A blade whistled past Seiji's ear and was close enough to Mizuki's arm to slice through her sleeve. "Hai."

"I will call Sh . . . " Mizuki's words were cut off when she suddenly found herself hurtling into the sky on the back of the massive dragon that Seiji had transformed into. She reflexively grabbed onto the inky black mane in front of her, well aware that this was one mount that she had no control over. "What do you think you are doing, Seiji-san?"

"I see Tsuki."

Mizuki thumped Seiji on the side of his neck. "And Shou can carry me. This is ridiculous."

"Shou is a rather busy at the moment."

Mizuki's head whipped around to find her partner tangled with not one, but two dragons over the palace.

----

Shou was not sure who the new male was, but the male made a gesture and two other youkai had transformed into dragons and taken after him.

His final instructions had been to cause as much chaos as possible in the palace, but he was pretty sure that dealing with the two dragons was more important. Shou had lost all track of Mizuki in the chaos, but he did want to stay close in case she called for him. The two dragons were closing, and the smaller dragon stayed right where he was.

The lead dragon got a face full of ice shards as he came in close to the source of chaos. The second dragon managed to swerve away and get Shou caught between the two of them. He did not even slow before slamming into Shou's side, digging in with his claws.

Shou let out a roar as both dragons latched on, twisting to grab one of them by the throat. His tail whipped at the black one, trying to knock it loose. The trio was dropping towards the ground as they all concentrated on things other then staying in the air. Blood was running from all three and splashing on the ground.

Shou got his teeth into the dragon that was trying to rip through his left side. His whole body twisted as he wrenched the claws out of his hide and shook the larger dragon like a rag doll.

"Shou!"

Mizuki's yell made him drop his first victim and lay into the second one. Mizuki may need him! This dragon was blood red and was showing no signs of releasing him. Shou's teeth snapped as he twisted, trying to get a lock on the dragon.

Flipping over, Shou drove his opponent into the ground in the middle of the palace. The struggling pair slid through a burning building and sprayed debris everywhere, igniting more fires. The two dragons broke apart and found their feet, growling and circling each other. Shou kept his attention on his opponent even as he tried to scent out Mizuki. She had not whistled for him, so he would try to finish this problem off first.

A second growl signaled that the black dragon was back. Shou's tail whipped back and forth as he waited for either of the larger dragons to attack first.

----

"Seiji-san, we must assist Shou." Mizuki watched in horror as the blue dragon crashed to earth, sliding through a flaming building.

"Tsuki will get away." The navy dragon glared back at her. "He is our objective."

"Now, Seiji-san." Mizuki pointed her naginata at the eye she could see. "Set me down."

"Shou is buying us time. Do not waste his efforts by trying to save him as well."

The usually sapphire eyes were bleeding crimson, and her voice had dropped to a growl. "I said now."

Snarling, Seiji dropped down. He was still several lengths from the ground when Mizuki leapt, her naginata flashing as she slammed it point first into the black dragon behind Shou. The dragon roared and slammed into a wall, trying to crush his attacker. Mizuki hung on and attacked again, aiming for his eyes. The dragon was already bleeding heavily from Shou, and as he weakened the hanyou cut him apart.

Shou grabbed the red dragon and tried to pin him down. The larger dragon pulled free and grabbed onto Shou's leg, twisting.

'She is far too busy saving everyone to actually accomplish anything.' Seiji swerved away to hunt his prey. 'If that is how she wishes to die, so be it.'

Tsuki spotted Seiji and took cover in the central building.

'I will find you.' Seiji dropped to the ground, all of his senses focused on hunting and killing the one taiyoukai.

There was a howl behind him, and he was quite certain it was from Shou. Even as his mind screamed that his prey was getting away, his instincts yanked his head around to look. The blue and silver dragon was hurt, and Mizuki was standing between him and the remaining dragon. The second dragon was a carcass a short distance away. The female was not standing quite right, and he could see her crimson eyes from where he stood.

Seiji turned away. 'It was her choice. I have a duty.'

The sound of claws and steel could not be blocked out, or the defiant roar of the dragon that would defend his mistress until death.

'Damn it all to hell!' Seiji turned away from Tsuki's trail and charged the dragon that had knocked Shou aside in favor of killing his mistress.

----

Mizuki knew she was in trouble, but she did not care. Shou was badly hurt, with one leg barely hanging on to his body. She felt no pain, even through a part of her mind was screaming that she was injured. The blood colored dragon loomed over her as both of her hands clutched her naginata. 'Shou is pack.'

She was so focused on her opponent that her brain was not able to comprehend when it simply disappeared. Her eyes swung to the side and saw Seiji tangled with the dragon. Before her rational mind could even voice an opinion she was in motion, determined to help kill the beast that had hurt her Shou so badly.

Seiji heard the familiar whistling sound and got the hell out of the way. Mizuki's eyes were still those of a youkai as she ripped into the downed dragon. Even as Seiji tore the dragon's abdomen open Mizuki sliced through his throat, ensuring that the dragon would not be getting up again.

The red eyes gave Seiji reason to pause. This had started when she had landed near him, and had become much worse when she saw Shou under attack. She did not look entirely sane.

All around them the soldiers were working up their courage, now that they were not distracted by Shou or the explosions that Mizuki had arranged. Somebody fired an arrow at the hanyou, choosing her as the easiest target.

Mizuki snatched it out of the air, growling as she turned to face this new threat. The look in her eyes and the change in her scent made them draw back half a step. What was she?

The hanyou ripped into the soldiers, leaving a bloody swath behind her. Seiji spared a moment to just watch. She was primitive, like a force of nature as she destroyed everything in her reach. When Seiji jumped into the fray and Shou blasted at them from where he stood, the soldiers decided they had seen enough. It had only been a day since Tsuki had taken over the palace in a blood bath that had wiped out over half of his own forces as well as Akira's. Now her son had brought this creature from hell with him to exact revenge.

At first it was a few soldiers that broke and ran, but the idea quickly took hold. When they had to choose between their fear of Tsuki and their fear of death staring them in the eyes, they chose to risk Tsuki's wrath.

Assuming he lived through the day.

Mizuki showed every sign of pursuing the fleeing soldiers, but Seiji blocked her path. The still crimson eyes glared at him as she continued to growl deep in her chest.

Seiji transformed, keeping a careful eye on the rather crazed hanyou. "Mizuki-san."

The hanyou blinked and the growl stopped, but the eyes were still not sane.

The dragon dared a few more steps, coming within an arm's length of the hanyou. He touched her shoulder. "Mizuki."

Sanity leaked back into her expression. The now sapphire eyes blinked and looked down to her blood soaked clothing. Confused, she looked back to her ally. "Seiji-san. What has happened?"

"We will discuss it later. Now we must hunt down our true prey. You did an excellent job of taking the fight out of our enemies."

"I did . . . " Mizuki looked at the carnage around herself. "Shou!"

The dragon had stayed clear of the fight, trying to help while on three legs. Mizuki ran her hand over the mangled remains of his leg, biting her lip. "You are done fighting for today, sleepy one."

Shou growled, but it had little of his usual fight in it.

"Do not argue with me." Mizuki rapped him on the nose. "Come."

Seiji glared as Shou changed to his smallest form and floated to Mizuki. The dragon had his front leg wrapped and secured to his own body, a hasty job that would hold for the time being. Mizuki felt more secure with him across her shoulders, where she could watch over him.

"If you are quite ready, Tsuki may not have totally escaped." Seiji snarled at the female.

"I do not abandon pack." Mizuki snatched her naginata from a rapidly cooling corpse and set off across the grounds. "It is a lesson that dragons would do well to learn."

'And is that why you came after me, my little inu?' Seiji fell into step with her, finding Tsuki's scent as they slipped into the building that the Eastern lord had always considered home. 'Thank every deity known that mother sent the twins and my brother to stay with her family.'

Tsuki was waiting for them, alone in the Great Hall. The room was already damaged from the coup he had led, and the smell of smoke blocked out everything. The state of his family's home drove Seiji's temper even higher.

"Seiji, I will admit that I had not expected you so soon, and without an army. Instead you bring Sesshomaru's eldest. Interesting choice." Tsuki stepped down from the dais, as calm as though he was joining them for a meal.

"My mother should have killed you as soon as she was done with your brother." Seiji drew his sword. "These are my family's lands."

"No, these are Ryuutaisho's lands, and that dog killed him and gave them to that traitorous bitch you call a mother. The sons all died, and I was next in line. These are my lands, and your late mother stole them."

"I have heard this argument, Tsuki. Your brother lost, and the lands are now rightfully my mother's."

"Mizuki, correct?" Tsuki ignored Seiji and looked to the silent female beside him. "You are second in line to the West. What would you do if someone murdered your father and brother, then took your family's lands?"

"That would never happen." Mizuki fought to unclench her jaw. 'But I would do exactly what he has done.'

"Come, Seiji. I will give you the honorable option that was never given to me. Fight me, and the winner can be the new Lord to the East." Tsuki turned and snatched up his weapons from the dais. "With the little hanyou for a mate Sesshomaru would not dispute either of our claims."

"You wish to fight for the East and Sesshomaru's daughter?" Seiji walked to the center of the hall, his sword at the ready.

"Hai. The survivor gets both."

'The hell he does!' Mizuki was completely incensed by the entire situation, even as she stood completely still with her usual lack of expression. 'Fight for the East, you fools, but I am not a part of this.'

Sharp claws pricked her skin as Shou hissed.

"No, little one. This is his fight. Tsuki has the right as Ryuutaisho's brother and the former heir."

His eyes stared into hers.

"Of course, if he should be foolish enough to try to claim me, his life is forfeit."

Seiji and Tsuki slowly circled each other. Tsuki was a few thumb lengths shorter with a stockier build. He held a katana in one hand and a nasty, double bladed dagger in the other.

It was Seiji that moved first, closing in to exchange blows with the older dragon. He had no doubt that he could best Tsuki, but the dragon was well known for his treachery. Sparks flew when the blades touched, illuminating their faces in shades of white and blue.

Tsuki pushed hard, forcing his opponent back and dove in with his dagger. Seiji grabbed his wrist and tried to force him to drop it. Blood splattered the floor, but Tsuki refused to let go. His fangs flashed as he kicked out, aiming for Seiji's gut.

Evading the kick cost Seiji his grip on Tsuki. The dagger slashed through his arm even as the shorter dragon pulled away.

"If you simply wanted to commit suicide for your family's defeat, there was no need for so much destruction." Seiji spun around and slammed into Tsuki, knocking him away. "I would have been more then happy to oblige you."

Tsuki slammed back into Seiji, sending them both to the floor. "Awfully confident for someone with no support."

"I do not need support to defeat you."

"Truly?"

A figure dropped from the ceiling, unnoticed until he moved. Seiji saw movement at the edge of his vision and moved to defend himself, but too late.

A sword slammed into Seiji's back, driving him to one knee. He had avoided the heart shot that would have probably knocked him to the ground, but he was still in trouble. Tsuki wasted no time in closing, his opponent temporarily debilitated.

A low growl made Tsuki glance away, just in time to see the business end of a naginata coming for his head. He dropped to the ground, but got the weighted end in his chest for his troubles.

"This is not your fight, hanyou." Tsuki flipped to his feet, ignoring Seiji in favor of the aggressive female.

"I will not allow him to die due to your treachery. This was not a part of your challenge." Mizuki stalked the dragon as he backed away.

"It is not your concern. I am the rightful ruler of these lands, and that makes his life mine."

"No." Mizuki slammed her naginata into his sword, locking it up. She twisted her weapon hard, sending the sword clattering to the ground. Her voice was little more then a soft growl. "His life is mine."

His dagger moved for her, but she had fought with a dagger often enough to predict this. Her right hand dropped the naginata to grab her sword, using an upward slice to cut straight through his wrist. Both the dagger and the hand fell to the floor.

Tsuki snarled and backed away, holding the damaged arm to his chest. The point of a sword was against his back, stopping his retreat. He turned his head to find a badly injured and thoroughly pissed off taiyoukai behind him. The treacherous partner was in pieces on the floor.

"It was a tactical error to try something so treacherous in front of Mizuki-san." Seiji stepped closer, watching the hanyou over Tsuki's shoulder. "She does not accept that kind of behavior."

Mizuki gave Seiji a faint glare, even as she set her own sword against Tsuki's throat. "I assume that you wish to finish this."

"It was part of the challenge."

"Very well. His accomplice has been defeated, and the fight is even. I will release him."

Tsuki was released, and Mizuki walked away. The wounded dragon turned to face Seiji with his chin raised. "Your house will fall. My family will see to that."

Seiji drew his sword back.

A dagger appeared in Tsuki's remaining hand, quickly slamming into Seiji's shoulder. The dragon snarled and fell back. Something on the blade was sweeping through his body like flame, blocking out any kind of thought. Tsuki broke Seiji's grip on his sword and pulled it into his own hand.

There was a whistling sound, and Tsuki's head fell to the ground.

"Baka." Mizuki hissed as she yanked the dagger out of Seiji's shoulder. The pain stopped immediately, leaving the dragon blinking on the floor. "Why could you not just finish him?"

Seiji looked to where Tsuki was bleeding out on the floor. "You killed him."

"Hai." Mizuki offered a hand to help Seiji off of the floor.

"I was to kill him."

"It did not look promising."

"It was a challenge, hanyou."

"Challenge or no challenge, no one may kill you but me. However, I will tell no one."

"That is not the point. It was not your fight."

"Then I will request that my father revives him so that you can kill him this time." Ignoring the only surviving dragon in the complex, Mizuki walked away.

Seiji saw her steps falter and the way her jaw clenched as she forced her body to continue on its way. Blood was seeping through her clothing, and he could scent blood from her partner as well. It was not lost on him that these injuries were all for his family, and without her assistance he may very well have failed to save his mother's position.

"Mizuki-san."

Mizuki stopped in the doorway. "Hai, Seiji-san."

"I suppose this makes you the heir to the East."

One eyebrow popped up. "Nani?"

"The challenge was for the Eastern Lands. Since my mother is still alive, that would be the position of heir." Seiji kept a hand on the nasty gash through his torso as he walked towards the perplexed hanyou. "You did defeat Tsuki."

"Hai." A smile pulled at the corner of Mizuki's mouth. "But if I remember correctly, I was also fighting for the daughter of Sesshomaru. What shall I receive instead?"

"That was not my suggestion." Seiji echoed her smile. "However, it was a comforting thought to know that if I failed, Tsuki would be following after me shortly."

"Very true." Mizuki looked about the smoldering wreckage that had once been the home of the Eastern Court. "What have we done?"

"We have won, Mizuki."


	88. Choice

A/N: Well, I didn't make you guys wait too long this time. Hey Syren, which lines have been deemed signature worthy? I'm just so darn curious.

And finally, at long last, beware of citrusy content. Quite citrusy, actually.

--About damn time!--

Hush, you. I was building up characters and plot and . . .

--rotten fruit flying through the air--

Okay, okay, just go and enjoy. Jeez. :-p It's not like I own any of them or anything.

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"It will take your family quite some time to set this to rights again."

"Hai."

Mizuki leaned against a wall as she looked around the complex. "I would not have destroyed so many buildings if the situation was not so dire."

"It can be rebuilt." Seiji pushed at some rubble with his foot. "And now what? The entire complex is deserted or dead. Do we simply wait for reinforcements?"

"I would guess so. We cannot leave now, or someone else will try to take power."

"We are in no condition to leave, either way." Seiji pulled his hand away from the nasty injury that Tsuki's accomplice had given him. Blood was still sluggishly running down his body. "This may take a day or two to heal. I have not needed to have a wound actually tended to in some time."

Still refusing to show the condition she was actually in, Mizuki touched her leg where blood had leaked through her clothing. "I will also need some time to heal, as well as tending to Shou."

"Then it is settled. We will make camp here tonight and try to piece ourselves back together. I, for one, could do with a bath and new clothing as well as bandages and rest."

Sighing, Mizuki looked down at her own clothing. After two major battles in two days, she was in a sad state. 'This is the downfall of jumping on to Shou and charging in without preparations.'

"We can also check my mother's wardrobe. She is not much taller then you."

Startled, the hanyou's head snapped up. "Nani?"

"You must be quite tired, since that expression was blatantly obvious. I do not think we can do much about your armor, but perhaps the Fates will leave us alone for a time."

"Do not concern yourself about that. I am so tired of wearing my armor that I doubt I would put it back on even if the Fates decided to be cruel."

Smiling, Seiji gestured for her to follow him through the destruction. "The family's wing is on the other side of the building, so hopefully our enthusiastic attacks did not destroy that as well."

"Your mother will not mind?"

"I think she will owe you at least that much after your help. My sisters are much too small to lend you clothing."

Mizuki fought to keep her head up and to continue walking in a straight line. All bravado aside, her body was rapidly reaching its limits. 'Soon. Soon I will be able to rest.'

"I think we are in luck." The doors that Seiji slid open were intact, and the room beyond was not damaged more then some things knocked over. He slid the door open to his mother's closet and looked inside. "A bit messy, but you should be able to find something to change into. I am going to my room down the hall, and I will leave you to find new clothing."

"Arigato, Seiji-san." Mizuki looked at the scattered silk, and tried not to groan. 'Colorful. Each and every one. At least they are tasteful colors, but I will feel like a cluster of flowers on Mama's desk. Still, it is better then being blood splattered.'

A quick search came up with an acceptable pile of silk made of subdued colors. The sad remains of her own clothing were tossed aside and replaced with a robe. There was no point in actually changing until she had finished cleaning herself up. The act of pulling the robe up over her shoulders made her hiss as a forgotten injury made itself known.

"Mizuki-san?"

Sash and supplies secure, Mizuki threw the door open. "I am fine, Seiji-san. Where does your healer keep his supplies?"

"They should be two corridors over. I will take you there."

The raid on the healer's supplies was a complete success. Mizuki loaded herself down with bandages and jars that would help her care for their injuries.

Mizuki tried to shake her hair back, but it would not move. It was almost plastered into place with the blood from the fighting. "Is it too much to hope for that your family had a hot spring on the property?"

"It is behind the family's wing. With any luck the building is still standing."

"It does not matter, as long as there is hot water still available."

The weary army of three dragged itself to the bath house, universally relieved that it was still standing.

"Go ahead, Seiji-san. I will wait here and tend to Shou." Mizuki dropped her supplies onto the little porch at the entryway.

"And if you sit down, I doubt you will begin to move again. I have plenty of experience in bandaging injured dragons." Seiji gave the female a shove towards the door. "Go."

"You are bleeding everywhere."

"And so are you. I will not perish while you are gone, and neither will Shou."

With a final glare, Mizuki turned and limped into the bath house.

"I am rather shocked she went." Seiji unbound Shou's leg, smiling as the dragon made that hissing sound that was obviously a laugh. "She must be tired."

"I am not so tired that I am deaf, Seiji-san!" Mizuki's voice echoed through the building and to the door.

"I believe she will be difficult to live with for the next few days as she recovers."

Shou nodded gravely.

"Lovely." The damage to the little dragon's leg was extensive, and Seiji was concerned as to whether or not the limb would be able to repair itself. The bone seemed to be broken in two places, and was only held on by a strip of muscle and skin. "It is quite convenient that you can change sizes, my friend. This would be nearly impossible at your full size."

The bones were lined up to the best of Seiji's ability, and a piece of wood from the convenient debris served as a splint. Shou hissed as the pieces were moved into place, looking away from the mess. The skin and muscle would knit itself together without the need for stitches, but it would need to be held together until it had started healing. The end result was a swath of white around Shou's leg that also included some loops up and around his chest.

"Do not look at me like that. Next time you will not let your opponent get a hold of you like that." Seiji tied off the last of his work.

"He looks ridiculous." Mizuki was still rubbing at her hair as she walked out onto the porch. She had not wasted any time, and even now her robe was still sticking to her still damp body.

Seiji realized he was staring and snapped his head away. "It will not take very long for him to recover."

"But in the meantime, he does look ridiculous."

"Hai."

"Your turn, Seiji-san."

After Seiji left Mizuki settled to the floor, pulling supplies towards herself. The cut on her leg was still sluggishly bleeding, and it would need to be covered. 'Very inconvenient. The back of my leg is much more difficult to see.'

As she wound a bandage around her leg she tried to assess her other injuries. Her body hurt from top to bottom, so it was hard to locate anything that was serious. The cuts across her arm were closed, and the hits to her chest had left some spectacular bruises, but no open cuts. 'I may have gotten off light.'

"And are you intending to continue bleeding all over?"

'I am in absolutely no mood to deal with him right now.' Mizuki snapped her head around to glare at Seiji. "I have covered it. The stench of my blood will fade soon, but it does take me some time to heal."

"I was not referring to your leg." Seiji forced his eyes away from the leg exposed to the thigh and instead put his hand against her back. When he drew it away it was black with blood.

"How?" The hanyou touched her own back, finding that her clothing was soaked through.

"While you were fighting the dragons. Do you remember anything of that?"

Mizuki stared at her own hand, no color left in her face. "No. I remember nothing."

Seiji snagged a bandage and tugged at the back of her robe.

"Excuse me?" The hanyou's death grip on her robe brought the dragon to a stop.

"You cannot see this. It seems that you were not even aware of it. How do you intend to care for it?"

"I will find a way." Mizuki swung an elbow back, trying to force Seiji away.

"Enough, Mizuki-san. You are insisting on helping me, then you will allow me to help you. I will not allow you to tend to any of my injuries unless I can tend to yours."

The wound through Seiji's torso was still actively bleeding, and Mizuki could not force herself to refuse to help him. She turned her eyes away, but did not move as her robe was pushed down in the back so the dragon could care for her. His hand was on her bare shoulder, and she was suddenly very aware of how little she was wearing. Her hands clenched on the front of her robe, feeling like an animal in a trap.

"I am done, Mizuki-san."

Seiji had barely finished speaking before Mizuki had her robe secured over her shoulders again, tossing a glare over her shoulder at him. "Is it still worth my trouble to assist you, or have you completely healed already?"

"I doubt even your father could recover that quickly." Seiji casually slipped his robe off of one shoulder, showing the hole that was smaller but still ran completely through him. "That bastard knew how to do a lot of damage."

Mizuki's glare evaporated when she took in the damage. Without another word she wound a bandage around his torso, blushing when she had to slip her hands across his chest and under the other half of his robe to complete this. The blush was not lost of Seiji, who found it rather appealing.

"Are you hurt anywhere else, Seiji-san?"

The hanyou's voice was quieter then usual, and her eyes were avoiding his.

"No, Mizuki-san. I believe that is the only injury that is still bleeding." The ice blue eyes watched as Mizuki pulled away, swallowing hard. Her sudden change in behavior was confusing, and having her so close with just a thin layer of silk on was having a rather unexpected effect. 'But it should have been expected just after a battle. I have always wondered if females were affected the same way.'

"We should check to make sure that there are no more surprises." Mizuki used the wall to pull herself to her feet. "I will change, and then we can go and search the grounds."

"You can barely walk, Mizuki-san. I do not think there is any good in going out looking for trouble tonight."

"And there is even less good in resting with our enemy laying in wait." A bundle of silk was scooped up and hauled back into the bath house.

Seiji was fairly certain he could hear cursing as the hanyou dressed herself. The question was if it was directed at him, the clothing, or both. While she was away he did pull on a pair of hakama and drop his ruined robe. Careful inspection showed that he still had a full range of motion, even if it was quite painful. He adjusted the bandage so it would not get in the way of his sword arm.

"Seiji-san, finish dressing."

The dragon found Mizuki behind him, her cheeks again stained with crimson. She was dressed in one of his mother's outfits in shades of blue, complete with long sleeves and an elaborate obi. She had evidently lopped a couple of feet off of the end of the obi so that she could keep it to a simple knot that she could manage on her own. He found that he liked the way she looked dressed in blue, and the hint of embarrassment amused Seiji to no end. "You just finished bandaging my chest. Why are you so shocked now?"

"That was necessary. Now you should dress yourself so that we can begin our search."

"We are not going to search these buildings. It is dusk. Tsuki's forces have run, and the bastard is dead. Tomorrow we will be in danger, but tonight they are too busy fleeing to organize a return."

"You may be comfortable resting like this, but I am not." A pale hand shoved Seiji, trying to move him out of the doorway. "Let me by."

"No. You are not going out there."

"Do not make me move you."

Seiji grabbed onto Mizuki's arm. "You are in no condition to make threats."

"Do not touch me." She twisted, trying to break away. Her voice was the same temperature as the peak of Mt. Fuji in the dead of winter. "You have no right to order me to do anything."

"Damn it all, Mizuki!" In an instant Seiji had Mizuki flattened against a wall, holding her by her shoulders. "Do not fight me just for the sake of fighting me."

"In case you have forgotten, I hate you."

"You are a pathetic liar, Mizuki." Seiji moved in closer, keeping his eyes locked on hers. "You do not hate me. If you did, you would not have interfered with Tszuki."

"Do not flatter yourself. You are nothing more then the lesser of two evils."

"Admit it. You do not hate me."

"I will admit no such thing until it is true."

Ignoring the fact that they were both injured, Seiji shook Mizuki hard. "You are an impossible bitch."

"If you have the sense of a newborn pup you will let me go. Now."

"I am not afraid of you."

"Baka." Mizuki twisted hard, her claws burying themselves in his arms. Seiji released her shoulders so he could grab her wrists with his own claws.

"Do not poison me, Mizuki. You do not want me weakened."

'Fuck.' Furious, Mizuki dragged her claws back out of his arms. When she felt him start to relax she slammed into him, sending them both to the floor. Seiji did not let go of her, and instead rolled so that she was now pinned underneath him.

Her vision was completely filled with a growling taiyoukai, crushing her to the ground as he glared into her eyes. Plans flashed through her mind on how she would exact her revenge.

His mouth dropped over hers, turning her world completely upside down. It was a hungry, forceful kiss that left her with little choice but to respond. Mizuki's eyes slid shut as she gave herself over to the feel of his lips on her own, of his body pushing against her own.

Slowly Seiji pulled away, gazing into her slightly dazed eyes. He ducked down to nuzzle her hair, whispering to her. "Admit it."

'Bastard.' Mizuki slammed her fist into his temple, sending him rolling away from her. A surge of adrenaline and defiance got her back to her feet and out the door, racing through the debris and out the open gate.

----

Mizuki watched the wind toss the leaves about while she tried to catch her breath.

'What was that? I hate him, I know I do. Then why . . . '

Her body was not happy with her, and wished to return to that dragon. She set her head against the trunk of the tree she was sitting in and tried to wrap her logical mind around the absolute pandemonium that the kiss had caused.

'He is attractive, I cannot argue with that. However, this is not the first time I have kissed someone. It is of little concern.'

The frenzy was not settling.

'It is of little concern.'

A primitive part of her mind snarled at her.

'Perhaps it is of concern.' Mizuki let her eyes slide shut. Between the stress, the battles, and her injuries it was more effort to keep them open then it was worth. 'The real question is what I will do about this.'

The now rather noisy back of her mind supplied some ideas on what she should do.

'Absolutely not. He deserved to be knocked off of me, and if he is foolish enough to attempt anything of that sort again . . . '

The silver head drooped. 'He is correct. I am a pathetic liar. I cannot even lie to myself. I will react the exact same way. If he had not restarted that fight I would have . . . ' Mizuki shook her head hard. 'Perhaps it is for the best he aggravated me.'

'I hate this. I hate not understanding my own mind and responses. Half of me begrudges him every breath he takes, but the other half . . . '

Mizuki would have sworn she heard a soft growl coming from her own mind.

'And since when do I feel like I have a second opinion coming from my own head? It is as if one part of me has already chosen him.'

Realization slowly washed over her. 'Is this what mother had meant when she said father did not have a choice? Has the choice been made for me as well?'

Katsuro would have never asked about her ability to feel if he could have seen her face as the pieces fell into place.

She was furious.

'My own mind has turned against me! I will not stay with him against my will, forced to follow him about like a lapdog!' A fist slammed into the tree, sending wood and blood flying.

As quickly as it had started, the storm was over. Mizuki was just too spent to maintain it. 'What can I do?'

A single tear slipped down her cheek. 'I need my father.'

----

Seiji's first reaction, once his mind had stopped reeling from the surprisingly strong punch, had been to hunt her down. What he would do after that was not too clear, but it was not pleasant. His head was aching, and her reaction had caught him completely off guard.

He bolted for the door, but stopped when he felt a sharp pain on his arm. Shou was zig zagging in front of him, hissing.

The little dragon had bit him.

"You little. . . " Seiji stopped himself. He could not attack a tiny, injured dragon that had just fought alongside of him. "Stay out of this, Shou."

Shou continued to hiss.

"I will not truly hurt your mistress. Even if she wishes to be alone, I cannot leave her out there. She is in no condition to defend herself."

The little dragon was not budging.

"I promise that I am not going to bring serious harm to your mistress."

To Seiji's surprise, Shou settled on his shoulder.

"Chaperoning me? Very well. We will even spend enough time to let your lady calm a bit, or it will be difficult to bring her in without injuring her. Is that acceptable?"

Shou gave him a sharp nod.

They found the exhausted hanyou sitting in a tree, fresh blood on her hand and the tree's trunk.

"And what did the tree do to you?"

She did not even open her eyes when he spoke. She ignored him completely. A quick movement dashed a tear away, but Seiji had already seen it.

'Evidently she has not calmed enough.' Seiji did not like the fact that he could smell salt on her, or that she was not even glaring at him. She looked defeated. "Mizuki."

"Hai, Seiji."

"If I come up there are you going to attack me?"

There was a flicker of movement, almost a smile. "A tempting thought, but I do not think I am in any condition to follow through on it."

Seiji had a brief argument with Shou, ending with the little dragon staying on the ground. Despite Mizuki's assurances that it was safe, Seiji felt rather cautious approaching her. "And what foul crime did the tree commit?"

"It was there."

"If that is grounds for attack, I do not think I will ever be safe again.'

"Most likely not, Seiji."

The pair quietly watched the trees for a time, keeping the destruction behind them.

"I did not mean to offend you so severly, Mizuki."

Mizuki actually chuckled. "That was not why you were hit."

Seiji's eyebrows went up. "No? Then why did you hit me? Because I was there?"

"No, because you tried to make me say I do not hate you."

"So you do hate me."

"I do not know, Seiji." The sapphire eyes finally opened, showing her exhaustion. "I truly do not know."

Seiji started to reach for her shoulders, but caught himself. "With your permission?"

"You are safer now then you will probably ever be again. I am to the point that I am in danger of falling out of this tree."

The unresisting form was pulled over to lean against his bare chest, her silver hair falling around them both. A curious hand picked up a lock, running it between his fingers.

"What are you doing, Seiji?"

"I have never seen it loose before."

"Ah."

The only sounds that Mizuki could hear were the beat of the dragon's heart, his steady breathing, and the rustling of the leaves.

Seiji brushed the hair away from her face, looking over her carefully. "You were not exaggerating about your imminent collapse. We should return."

"I am not particularly motivated to move."

Mizuki bit back a gasp as Seiji pulled her up into his arms and dropped out of the tree.

"The world will continue to function without you for just one night, Commander. You have done enough."

"It does not seem I have much of a choice." Mizuki let her head rest on his shoulder.

"I am taking tonight off, and so are you. I am not the Eastern Lands heir, and you are not a Commander in the Western Armies. Let them fend for themselves."

"Hai, Seiji-san."

Shou hitched a ride on Mizuki's shoulder as Seiji took her back to what shelter they had. It was a fight for Mizuki to keep her eyes open, and she gave it up.

The change in Mizuki's breathing let Seiji know that she was now sound asleep. He was rather startled that she had fallen asleep in his arms, but he certainly did not mind.

In the family's wing he found an interior room that was mostly undamaged. Well aware that she may kill him for it later, Mizuki was settled into bed with Shou by her head.

Seiji settled next to the door, leaning against the wall. He could doze, knowing that any sound would wake him. There was only one way into this room, and it was through him.

----

'Where am I?'

Mizuki sat up slowly, letting her eyes roam around the dark room. Shou was snoring away on her pillow, his one wrapped leg sticking out. Her hands went to the bandage still wrapped around her leg. 'I am in Seiji's home.'

A pair of ice blue eyes was watching her, visible even in the gloom of night.

"Seiji-san."

"Hai, Mizuki-san."

"How long have I been out?"

"Only half of the night. Go back to sleep."

"No." Mizuki was relieved that she had recovered a fair amount of her strength and was able to stand on her own. "It is your turn to rest."

"I am resting."

"Sleep, Seiji-san. I will keep watch."

"You are the one who is supposed to be sleeping."

'I am going to kill him.' Mizuki walked right up to Seiji, close enough that her kimonos were brushing his leg. "Go and sleep, Seiji."

"No."

Mizuki pinched the bridge of her nose, looking surprisingly like her mother. "You are not moving unless you are forced, correct?"

"You can force me?"

"I have knocked shatei over the head and sent him to bed before."

Seiji shook his head. "And you would do it to me as well."

"Hai."

"Are you not tired of fighting?"

"I was dealing with assassins before your parents had even met. This has only been a few days of battle."

"I meant with me."

Mizuki swallowed, but allowed a small smile. "Fighting with you comes very naturally to me."

The dragon found his feet, keeping his eyes on the hanyou across from him. "And are we going to fight now?"

"Only if you insist on arguing with sensible ideas."

The sapphire eyes widened when she realized that Seiji had pinned her to the wall for the second time that night.

"I am taking tonight off, and that includes fighting with you."

"Then you will sleep?"

"No."

The part of Mizuki's mind that had been driving her to distraction was having an absolute party. Seiji's body was pressed against her own, his lips a breath away. 'Not good, not good, not good.'

Which one moved first to close the distance was a mystery, but Mizuki's hands dug into his shoulders as she tried to devour him. Seiji's hands went to her hips, pulling up hard against him. She felt his claws break through her skin and bit him on the lip.

Seiji snapped his head away, giving her a glare as a few drops of blood ran down his chin. Mizuki leaned in slowly and licked them away.

Deciding that it was worth the risk, Seiji reclaimed her mouth, enjoying this new battle for dominance. Her hands slid over his chest, claws trailing carefully over his skin and the bandages she had so carefully put on. His mouth trailed down her neck, making her gasp and her hands flex. His chest sported several new cuts when he nipped at her throat. Her head fell back, allowing him to continue as her hands moved to tangle in his hair.

A very small voice in the back of Seiji's mind mentioned that his mother would not be pleased, but he ripped through the kimonos anyways. They were in his way. His mouth followed the tear, dropping down until one of her breasts was caught. He heard her breathing hitch again, her hands tightening their grip and forcing him even closer. A quick movement had her on her back on the futon, his mouth never leaving her.

The aloof female was gone, replaced by a primitive creature that looked like she wished to devour him. Her obi was nothing but a fond memory, leaving the remains of her kimono to fall away and reveal her body. Seiji was in no mood to savor the view, and for that matter neither was Mizuki. Seiji's clothing was ripped apart, her claws raking dangerously across his skin. Mizuki's hands returned to his hair, pulling his head back so that she could run her mouth over his throat.

The long, pale legs were sliding around Seiji's hips. A low growl rumbled through his chest as he felt her pulling him in closer with both her hands and legs. He locked her wrists over her head, pulling her hands free of his hair. The two pairs of blue eyes locked as Seiji pressed against her, slowly sliding into her. The sapphire eyes slowly shut, a low moan escaping her.

When the slow motion was replaced by a hard thrust her eyes flew back open. Mizuki tried to break his grip on her wrists, but he had no intention of letting her get away. She arched her back against him, gasping when he continued to thrust into her. His fangs trailed down her throat, making her shiver. Seiji set a relentless rhythm, and Mizuki met his every movement with her legs wrapped snuggly around his waist.

Seiji felt her body tense, knew that she was nearing her release. He captured her mouth again, sliding his hands from her wrists down to her legs. The now free hands grabbed onto his shoulders, flexing as her entire body shook. The dragon followed her, his body tensing against hers as his hips thrust a final time.

"Mine." Seiji trailed his mouth over Mizuki's arm, tasting the blood from one of her many cuts.

Mizuki felt her pulse thundering in her ears. Her body was still trembling, reacting to the feel of his mouth brushing against her skin. He slid off of her, pulling her up against his chest so that her back was pressed against him. Slowly, their breathing steadied. Seiji ran his claws in a lazy pattern across her stomach.

"I think this may be an acceptable substitution."

The dragon blinked in the dark. 'Any other female, flowery words. Her? I have no idea what she is talking about.' "Substitution, Mizuki?"

"Hai."

"And what is this a substitution for?"

"I have no need for Sesshomaru's daughter, so I should take you as the prize along with the Eastern Lands."

'I am still not a prize.' Seiji grumbled to himself.

"Do not fuss. At least this means that you still have a chance to be the Lord of the East."

Seiji picked his head up to glare at the smaller hanyou. She smiled back at him, looking quite delighted with the situation. "Wench."

A pale hand grabbed onto a rather delicate piece of Seiji's anatomy that was exposed. "I do not recommend insulting me while you are so very vulnerable."

'Holy Kami.' The dragon froze.

Mizuki stretched up kiss the rather rigid dragon on the chin. "So long as we understand each other." She released her hold.

"As much as we ever will, Mizuki."

It was surprisingly soothing to have Seiji pressed against her, his breath blowing past her ears. Mizuki let her eyes close again, trailing her claws along the arm that was wrapped around her waist.

'Mama is going to have a fit.'

----


	89. Consequences

A/N: Hey, look, I bribed my muse into giving me a chapter! I had to promise another story after this one, since she refused to play. I don't think she wants the story to end. I have no idea when I'll get another chapter out of her, but hopefully my bribe will keep her working for long enough to finish this beast up. Just a couple of chapters left. And I still haven't taken over the world, so I'm still broke and own nothing of financial value.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'There has to be a way to shut this off. I'm going to lose it!'

'You have no right to complain, miko.'

'Nani?'

'My mind is much more disciplined then yours.'

'Says who? I'm not the one who answers with a single word and follows it up with some snide thought. How long have you been thinking stuff like that about everyone?'

Sesshomaru glanced at his mate out of the corner of his eye. 'What are you referring to?'

'I can hear your little scenarios for torturing Merkamou. That's just not nice.' Kagome folded her arms and turned her glare up another notch.

'That depends on your perspective.'

'Arrgh!'

If it was not for the fact that they were hurtling through the sky at a terrifying pace, Kagome would have jumped out of his arms. Her unspoken thought made Sesshomaru tighten his grip with a little surge of protectiveness.

'Until I figure out how to turn this off, let Merkamou carry me.'

'No.' Sesshomaru made a point of steering his mind away from torturing Merkamou so Kagome would not be tempted to attack him. Again.

Kagome started to hum. 'I've been searching for a man, all across Japan, just to find, to find my samurai.'

The taiyoukai's jaw tightened. 'No.'

'Someone who is strong, but still a little shy, yes I need, I need my samurai.' (1)

"Merkamou."

"Hai, Sesshomaru." Merkamou, in his flame form, dove down to hover just out of the frustrated taiyoukai's reach.

"You will carry her."

Merkamou flickered, visibly shocked even as a ball of flame. "If you are certain of that, Sesshomaru."

Still humming quietly, Kagome could not keep the victorious smile off of her face. 'Kagome: one. Arrogant bastard: zip.'

'I can still drop you, miko.' Sesshomaru ignored his mate's squeak and sudden death grip. "Hai."

The flame was replaced with a hawk while Sesshomaru wrestled with his mate. The miko had to be pried loose and dropped to her new perch. With a second squeak she landed in a heap on Merkamou's back.

"Arigato, Merkamou. I couldn't stand it! I've got to figure out a way to stay out of each other's heads." Kagome idly ruffled Merkamou's feathers. "These are so pretty, Merkamou."

"Hn."

Kagome glared up at her mate. "I know exactly what is behind those 'hn's now, so you better stop that. I can sing out loud, you know."

"I will refrain."

The miko leaned down close to the hawk's ear. "I haven't had to pull that trick since Mizuki was a pup."

"Miko."

Not for the first time, Merkamou was wishing that he could speak while transformed. If he could distract Kagome away from her mate, the storm that was brewing would pass them by. A small dive served the same purpose and kept his passenger from answering her mate. The few moments of blessed silence picked up an ominous quality as they stretched out. Under the feathers Kagome could feel Merkamou becoming tense.

"Merkamou?" The miko tried to look the hawk in the eye.

The hawk let out a soft hiss and added even more speed to his flight.

"Sesshomaru, do you know what's wrong?"

"Blood and destruction."

'Mizuki.'

----

It was not the first time that Mizuki had opened her eyes and wondered where she was. She was injured, but it was not life threatening. Shou was snoring quietly by her ear as usual. What set her mind into a frenzy was the feeling of a body pressed against her own. Reflexes kicked in and she attacked the creature that was attacking her in her sleep.

"Gah!" Seiji awoke to a strong grip hauling him out from underneath the blankets and out of his rather pleasant doze. He grabbed onto his attacker and rolled them both out of the bed, trying to keep himself safe while his brain struggled to remember why he was being attacked. Seeing Mizuki's sapphire eyes snapped his mind to where he was, and the feel of her naked body under his reminded him of what they had been doing just before he dozed off.

The pair slammed into the far wall. Blinking slowly, Mizuki eased her grip on the confused dragon. "Seiji."

"Mizuki. Is this how you usually start a day?" Seiji sat up, smirking a bit at her slightly perplexed expression.

"There is usually no one that close to me while I am sleeping unless they are a threat." A quick twist tossed Seiji off of her and let her stand. "Besides, we never decided if you were a threat or not."

Lying on his back, Seiji indulged in banging his head on the floor one time. "You are the single most stubborn female I have ever met. If I were a threat, you would be dead now. You fell asleep in my arms yesterday."

Heat washed over Mizuki's face. She spun around to collect her thoughts while the memories of the previous day continued to fall into place. The impossible battle, defeating Tsuki, a kiss, the tree, and then . . . 'Oh, what have I done?'

"I see that I have refreshed your memory." The dragon moved around Mizuki so he could see her face but stayed out of reach.

"Last night was an anomaly." The white hair was tossed back as Mizuki brought her chin up to look Seiji in the eye.

"That occurred three times, if memory serves."

The blush was back with a vengeance, and Mizuki was suddenly very interested in not looking at him. "I do not suppose that you left any of my clothing wearable."

"No more then you left mine."

Mizuki was quite certain that her face was going to burst into flame. "We cannot continue to wander about naked, Seiji."

"No one else is here, and I have seen everything already." The expression that Mizuki flashed the dragon made him back up a step. "But I am certain we could arrange something."

The screen door rattled as Mizuki flung it open to go find Akira's room. The truth was that she was far too comfortable with her state of undress around that dragon, and she was not at all certain that she could trust herself around him. Not when images of last night's activities danced behind her eyes and tempted her to repeat them until the source of her torment could not walk anymore. She needed to get away from him and get her mind back under some semblance of control.

Her search uncovered a simple enough kimono, and another obi was sacrificed to her need for expedience. While securing the shortened obi, she heard a sound just at the edge of her hearing. There were sounds coming from the courtyard, but they were too soft for her to make out.

Mizuki was not surprised to find Seiji already dressed and armed, standing just on the other side of the screen with his eyes pointing towards the source of the noise. A slight nod, and Mizuki grabbed her naginata and the still soundly sleeping Shou. The three defenders eased out of the building, looking for the intruders.

"Mizuki-chan!"

A small figure hurtled towards them, ignoring Seiji's move to block the perceived threat. The dragon was casually knocked down with a glowing pink wall while Mizuki dropped her naginata to catch her mother.

"I was so worried!" Kagome pulled back enough to look her daughter over. "Are you okay? What happened with Tsuki?"

"He is dead, Mama. We are fine." Mizuki gave her mother a small but real smile. "We won, and I did not kill him."

"Good girl." Kagome let go before he daughter could pull away. "And what about you, Seiji-san? None the worse for wear?"

The dragon's mumbled response was too quiet for the ningen, but made Mizuki glare.

Merkamou and Sesshomaru kept their distance, letting the demonstrative miko have her moment.

"You missed your calling in life, Sesshomaru." Merkamou smiled brightly, watching the dragon pick himself up to reclaim his spot next to Mizuki. "You should have been a fortune teller."

The inu-youkai's glare, which should have struck terror into the hawk's heart, simply made him burst out laughing.

Kagome looked over in confusion. "What are you two up to over there?"

"Mizuki." Sesshomaru turned and walked back out the gate, with his daughter following him out silently.

"Nani? Where are they going?" Kagome watched them walk away. "What was that all about?"

"I think he needs to have a word with his daughter about her recent behavior." The hawk gave Seiji a grin.

"Behavior? He just got here, and he doesn't even feel mad. I can't even really tell what he's feeling, more protective then anything."

"I forget that you have the life-span, but not the senses of a youkai, Kagome-sama."

"The senses? What are you talking about now? If you don't start making sense I'm going to singe your feathers right off."

Merkamou touched his nose and raised an eyebrow at Seiji.

Very slowly Kagome turned around. The air started to crackle as her aura jumped to life and her voice dropped. "What have you done to my daughter?"

'I am dead.' Seiji fought to not back away from the enraged miko. He did notice out of the corner of his eye that the great Southern Lord was already running for cover. 'I am not even sure what I have done to cause this level of rage.'

"I said, what did you do to my only daughter, Seiji-san?"

"I did nothing to harm your daughter, Kagome-sama."

"Liar!"

Seiji hit a wall, knocking his head hard.

"I think she is referring to your scent on her daughter, Seiji-san!" Merkamou was staying behind some rubble, but that did not mean he was not watching the show.

'Oh. So how do I explain last night to an enraged, over protective miko and survive the experience?' The dragon took a deep breath and stepped away from the wall. "I did not force or take advantage of your daughter, Kagome-sama."

"He is still alive, so I believe him, Kagome-sama!"

Seiji glared at the hawk before refocusing on the miko.

"But you were with her, right?" Kagome slammed Seiji back against the wall and held him there. "You slept with Mizuki."

"Hai, Kagome-sama."

The wall collapsed, sending Seiji to the ground.

"Run, Seiji-san!"

Kagome turned to glare at her friend. "Quit trying to help, troublemaker, or you're next!"

Seiji picked himself up, refusing to flee. "It was her choice, Kagome-sama."

The miko punched the dragon in the gut, leaving a nasty burn as well as knocking him back. A barrier kept him pinned to the ground with enough pressure to make it difficult for him to breathe. "Is she your mate, Seiji-san?"

"We have not discussed it." Seiji was barely able to speak or breathe with the force Kagome was putting on him.

"Do not kill him, Kagome-sama!"

"Shut up, Merkamou!" Kagome was growling, but she did take some of the pressure off. "I swear, if you are taking after your father . . . "

"I have heard this story, Kagome-sama. You can ask anyone, I am nothing like my father." The ice blue eyes locked with Kagome's gaze. "I have no intention of casting her aside. I never did."

"You better not." The barrier disappeared, and Kagome forced her jaw to unclench. Seiji was barely on his feet before he was knocked several feet back into a pile of rubble, courtesy of a right hook and a healthy dollop of pissed off miko energy. "And that's for your lousy decision making skills. I can't believe Sesshomaru just walked away and didn't even touch you!"

Merkamou seemed to think that things were settling, since he was coming out of his protected position. "Kagome, he was already thinking of them being a mated pair. He was not really surprised to find this one's scent on Mizuki."

"And her! What was she thinking? She is in so much trouble!"

Kagome whirled around and took off after her daughter.

Shaking his head, Merkamou offered a hand to the dragon that was picking himself up out of the rubble. "Can you stand?"

"Hai. I would rather face Sesshomaru-sama in a fury then his mate." Seiji ran his fingers over the burn on his jaw from Kagome's powers and fist.

"You will probably get a chance to compare them."

"Perfect. As if I have not seen enough violence."

Merkamou clapped him on the shoulder. "Welcome to the pack, Seiji-san."

----

"Well?"

Mizuki realized she was hanging her head like a scolded puppy. She drew her shoulders back and looked her father in the eye. "Hai."

"Hn." Sesshomaru sat down in the grass, draping one arm over his knee. His daughter settled next to him, tucking her hands inside of her sleeves.

Mizuki braced herself. 'I have to know.' "Is there a choice?"

"No." The taiyoukai kept his gaze locked on the trees. 'It is much harder to tell that to my daughter then to face it myself.'

"Will I be like mother?" 'Will I be locked to his side the rest of my life?'

"No."

"And him?"

"The same as you." 'He will be pulled into this bond. Most likely he already is.' Sesshomaru sniffed lightly, catching the faint scent of old blood. "Did he harm you?"

"No, father."

"Should he live?"

Mizuki smirked, one corner of her mouth turning up. "Hai."

"You will tell me." Sesshomaru turned to face his daughter. 'If he ever hurts you, he answers to me.'

"Hai, Papa."

Sesshomaru blinked in surprise. Mizuki had not used that name since she was tiny and had just found out what hanyou meant.

The blue eyes slanted over to study the taiyoukai. "You had no choice."

"Hai."

"Do you regret?" 'Do you wish you could have chosen for yourself, father? Do you regret Mama?'

"No. Do you?"

Mizuki sighed. "I do not know."

"It is progress."

A soft chuckle was Mizuki's reply. 'True. I now know that I do not hate him.'

"Kagome is upset."

"Hai." Mizuki could practically smell her mother's annoyance as she stomped over to them.

"You are grounded, young lady!"

Mizuki and Sesshomaru both felt their eyebrows disappear into their hair.

"You hate him, but you slept with him? Now his family is going to be convinced that you are his mate, and it's going to be a huge mess to get you out of this since you don't want him and all because you did something stupid. You've never done something stupid, so I guess you're just making up for that, but next time you want to be stupid can we at least keep it in the west and not involve a whole mess of dragons? I can see it. He's attractive, near death experience, and I'm really not one to talk, but I didn't sleep with an heir that I hate! And how, exactly, do you suggest we deal with this?" Kagome finally inhaled, having run out of things to say for the moment.

"I already have a plan on how to deal with this." Mizuki had to fight to not smile at her mother's expression.

"Well, would you mind sharing with your _mother_?"

"I will be the next Lady of the East."

"Unacceptable!" Kagome threw her hands up over her head.

Sesshomaru stepped into the conversation. "It is not truly a choice anymore, Kagome."

"Nani?" Kagome stared at her mate. "Just because he slept with her? That's ridiculous! She's not the first female to slip up like that."

"She is bound to Seiji, and I would suspect that he is bound to her."

"Nani?" The miko dropped to her knees, staring at her daughter. "No. It can't be. She can't be bound to someone she hates!"

"I do not hate him, Mama."

"That's just your bond talking." Kagome suddenly stopped. "I sound like the psycho, don't I?"

Sesshomaru nodded while Mizuki looked puzzled.

"Damn it."

"Kagome." Sesshomaru took Kagome by her shoulders and turned her so that her eyes were on him. "You said that you would trust me on this matter."

"I know. And I'm trying! But she said she hated him, over and over and . . . "

"And do you remember what I said?"

"That if she truly hated him, he would be dead already."

"Hai."

The cobalt eyes looked up at the passing clouds. "So she never truly hated him, and this is something I should stop fighting, especially now that the decision's already made."

"Hai."

"But I still don't like it!"

"I am still sitting here." Mizuki gave both of her parents a glare.

"Have some faith in your daughter, Kagome."

"She can take care of herself, I know." 'But I'm her mother.'

'She is grown, Kagome.'

'I know she is. And stay out of my head, would you?' Kagome pulled back enough to make Sesshomaru let go of her shoulders. "Fine. I'll stop fighting this. But you're still grounded, young lady!"

"Nani?" Mizuki's jaw dropped as she watched her mother get to her feet and head back towards the remains of the Eastern court.

"It was still a stupid move, and if you weren't bound it could have ended very badly! And now I have to go check on your new mate. He's not used to being thrown through walls yet."

"You threw Seiji through a wall?" Mizuki jumped to her feet. "Father, if he dies . . . "

"Unpleasant."

Mizuki ran after the miko. "Do not kill him, Mama."

----

Word had evidently spread about Tsuki's attempt to take over the Eastern Lands. A unit of soldiers from Akira's family arrived the same day that Sesshomaru, Merkamou, and Kagome did. Mizuki had taken command the second they had walked in the gate and set them to work patrolling and cleaning up. A massive pyre was soon burning behind the complex and fresh eyes were watching for any other threats. The hanyou sat on the edge of the outer wall, watching the sun set. She had been avoiding Seiji all day, but she knew her luck had run out.

"What is the point of assigning a watch if you are to spend all night out here anyways?"

Mizuki looked down at the dragon that was now bound to her for the rest of her life. "I do not intend to sleep up here."

"And where is it that you intend to sleep?"

The sapphire eyes widened then snapped back to the horizon. She knew she was blushing and wished that either she or Seiji would just disappear. Preferably him.

Seiji was moving, and Mizuki knew he was coming up to her. Plans for escape flashed through her mind, but she did not move. Sooner or later she had to face him.

"Well? I would like to know what your plans are so I can plan accordingly." Seiji sat across from her, watching her face as she stared out at the horizon.

"I had not made any plans yet."

"Some how I doubt that. You always have a plan, Mizuki. I would guess that you have several and you are waiting for a crucial bit of information before you choose one."

Mizuki finally looked to Seiji, smiling. "Am I that predictable?"

"I can only predict that you have a plan. What you are planning is completely unpredictable. However, since there is a chance that I will be affected, I would like at least a guess as to what you are planning for tonight."

"What are you planning for tonight, Seiji?"

The dragon kept his gaze steady. "My plan is to go along with your wishes."

"Very well. Which plan would your prefer I choose?"

"Enough, Mizuki. I will die of old age if we keep this up. We just need to get this conversation over with."

Sighing, Mizuki dropped back to lie on the wall. "Hai."

"Have you chosen, Mizuki?"

"It is no longer my choice, and it is not truly yours, either."

"Explain."

Mizuki stared up at the darkening sky, hoping that Seiji was able to control his temper. Her body was still in no condition for a real fight. "Inu-youkai mate for life. I am already bound to you."

"I know."

The hanyou's head popped up. "How?"

"Why else would I have the urge to abandon my prey and save you? Besides, when your mother tries to match you up with an inu-youkai, you do ask around about that specie's habits. I came to this conclusion last night while you were sleeping."

"Fair enough." Mizuki's head dropped back down. "I guess that settles the question of our sleeping arrangements."

"At the risk of sounding like a sentimental fool, I would like to hear you say that you accept me, Mizuki. If nothing else, I would like to have that argument should your mother attack me again." Seiji tipped his head to the side. "Unless I need to fight for your approval."

"I have no interest in fighting tonight." Mizuki sat up, meeting Seiji's gaze. "I will be your mate, Seiji, if you will have me."

"No more questioning, Mizuki. I have only been waiting for you to make up your mind."

"It was not my mind that made the decision."

"Whichever part of you made the decision is not my concern, as long as the decision was the one I wanted." Seiji smiled. "Are we going to kill each other?"

"Probably."

"Wonderful. I was afraid you were turning into one of those emotional females." Dodging her swing, Seiji jumped to his feet. "We should go inside before your mother or father comes looking for us. I have limited interest in being pummeled again today."

"Then you should run, Seiji." Mizuki launched after him.

----

"They're trying to kill each other again."

"Relax, Kagome." Merkamou smiled as Mizuki tried to knock Seiji off of the wall. "Did you honestly think that your daughter was going to have a sweet and romantic relationship?"

"Well, not really, but some emotion would be nice." The miko watched with concern as Seiji got in a shot that dropped her daughter onto her back. "How could she be happy with him?"

"She looks happy to me."

"No, she looks pissed off."

"Kagome, I know she is not my daughter, but I have known her for a long time. Do you remember when we came in and that pair came out to challenge us? Did you see the way the two were standing? They may not be in love, but they are a team. I believe that is what Mizuki wants more then love. An equal partner."

"Is this a youkai thing?"

"Part of it. Part of it is just who she is." Merkamou looked down at his friend. "I am a youkai as well, and I do not function as they do."

"True. You fell head over heels into a forbidden love and risked everything to have it."

"That I did, and I would do it again if I had the choice."

Seiji was knocked off of the wall, landing in a heap while Mizuki chuckled. "Had enough, _mate_?"

"Oh, Kami help us all, that sounds like me!" Kagome's eyes widened to the size of teacups.

"I was wondering when you would catch on to that."

"Well, I still have Katsuro to give me a happy, romantic ending. I hope everyone is okay. I hate not knowing."

Merkamou gave his friend's shoulder a squeeze. "Now that Akira's forces are here we can leave. You will be able to see the rest of your brood soon, and I will be able to check on my own chick."

"I can only imagine the chaos that is going on without us there."

----

A/N: (1) Butterfly, off of Dance Dance Revolution (I can't find the singer right now, sorry)


	90. Welcome Back

A/N: To quote Mark Twain, "The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated." No, I'm not dead, and I love you guys! I've missed everyone so much. Patience with Mizuki and Seiji, you know I won't leave it as a strictly 'the inner demon made me' relationship. How else could I get her to unbend enough? And you know I have to give a sappy ending to someone. I'm just a sucker for romance. You guys really love the violent Kagome. Too bad she's usually a very gentle person and it takes a lot to make her blow. I'll go back and take another look at my spelling. I wish I didn't burn all of my betas out.

Me, own something of value? It is to laugh!

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Akira opened her eyes slowly, trying to puzzle out where she was. 'What has happened? We were in battle, but I remember nothing after that. Have I died?' Turning her head, she spotted Isamu. If she was not mistaken, the leopard had fallen asleep sitting up next to her. Her eyes took in the rest of her surroundings and recognized the home of the village's headman.

'So I am not dead. That is a relief.' Akira tried to sit up, but her body was having none of it. A soft moan escaped her and her eyes closed. 'I must be injured still.'

The soft sound was enough to jerk Isamu awake. "Akira?" He grabbed onto her hand, afraid that he had imagined her moving.

"Hai." The dragon forced her eyes back open.

Gentle fingers trailed over Akira's cheek. "I was so worried."

"What has happened, Isamu?"

"You were shot, Akira. You have been unconscious for two days."

"Two days?"

"Hai. You were almost torn in half, mate."

Akira ran a hand over her body, wincing at the still healing injuries. "We are still alive, so I assume that we won."

"Hai, we turned them back."

"Where is Seiji?"

Isamu's face fell. "He found out who was behind this. It was Tsuki, and he made a move for the East. Seiji left with Mizuki to deal with him."

"Why did you not go?"

"I couldn't leave you, Akira."

Despite her annoyance that he would leave their son to defend their lands with only Mizuki for help, Akira could not help but smile at his devotion. "I would guess that you have been at my side since I fell."

"Of course."

Akira tried to sit up again. Isamu slipped an arm around her shoulders and helped her up. He slid onto the blankets behind her, letting her rest against him.

"Where is Kagome-sama? She must be worried about her daughter."

"She was captured. Sesshomaru-sama went with a group to retrieve her."

The dragon set a hand on her injuries, growling softly. "And I have been of no use. I should be with Seiji, or at least helping find Kagome-sama."

"You were shot by a cannon, Akira. You've been very busy just staying alive."

"Hai." Akira let her head fall back to rest on Isamu's shoulder. "I could not walk across the room just now, much less face Tsuki."

"Seiji and Mizuki are already there, I'm sure. I rather pity Tsuki."

"I do not."

"Isamu-kun, if I bring you some food will you just ignore it again?" Cho walked in the door and stopped. "Akira-san?"

"Cho-san."

"You are awake!" Cho rushed over to kneel next to the dragon. "Should I find the healer?"

"There is no rush. If what my mate has told me is accurate, I have been in hibernation while my body repaired. I would guess that the worst of the damage has been healed now."

"Perhaps Isamu-kun will eat now." Cho pinned her brother with a glare.

"Easy, sister. If you bring food, I will eat. Can you bring something for Akira, too?" Isamu gave his sister a pleading look.

"Of course. I will let the healer know that she is awake, as well." Cho left the couple alone, hurrying to tell her father as well as the healer that Akira was finally awake. 'Maybe Isamu-kun will come back to his senses now. He has been a mess since she was hurt.'

Staying still was the last thing Cho wanted. She still did not know what had happened to her mother, Mizuki, or Katsuro. If her hands were empty all she would do was think about what could have happened to them. After helping to make lunch she followed Kumo around, trying to help in any way possible. When Kumo ran out of things for her to do, Cho was reduced to pacing the walls around the village and waiting for word of her family and friends.

When the sun dipped below the horizon and the stars came out, Cho was nodding off while still keeping watch.

----

"Are you going to talk to me, Yuriko?"

The little hawk avoided Shippou's eyes. "What do you wish to talk about, kitsune?"

"Anything! Usually we can't get you to be quiet, and the silent treatment is giving me the creeps!" Shippou tried to keep his voice down so Katsuro and Mayu would not wake up. "Is this about you knocking me off of Ah-Un?"

"You are an idiot, Shippou."

"I know, I got that part. So just spell it out for me, Yuriko."

"You offended me."

Shippou wanted to bang his head on something. "I offended you. Okay. What am I supposed to do now? You and Katsuro are my best friends, and I can't stand this."

Yuriko finally met his eyes, and Shippou swallowed hard. She knew her eyes were easy to read at the best of times, and she was hiding nothing from him. "Shippou."

"Oh, Yuriko. I had no idea. I really didn't. Come on, we've been friends for ever."

The tone of Shippou's voice and his anxious expression gave him away. Yuriko clenched her jaw against the raw pain in her chest. "But."

"Are you really going to make me do this?"

"Hai."

Shippou looked away. He couldn't stand the pain in his friend's eyes, and he knew he was the cause. "I won't lie to you. You'd find out later and hate me for it. I see you the same way I see Katsuro. You mean the world to me, but not the way you want."

Yuriko realized she wasn't breathing and forced her lungs to work again. "Understood."

"What, did you want me to lie to you?"

"No. Thank you for that, Shippou."

The kitsune glanced over. "Did I just lose one of my best friends?"

The tears were trying very hard to put in an appearance, but Yuriko blinked them back. "No, Shippou-kun. It will just take me some time."

"I'd rather have you yelling at me. Really. Would it make you feel better to beat me up?" Shippou offered a small smile.

The ploy helped. Yuriko gave a watery laugh. "Later, after we have delivered our charges."

"Don't think I'm going to just roll over and take it. You're going to have to work for it."

"Of course. I look forward to it." Yuriko used the uneven terrain as an excuse to look away. 'I will leave as soon as I can convince Papa to let me go. I cannot be around him now. After so long, I find that he has never wanted me. Now what?'

----

Cho jerked awake when she heard voices in the courtyard. 'So much for watching for them.' Below her was Ah-Un and four of the missing youkai. Two were sitting on Ah-Un, propped up against each other. Cho's heart raced as she dropped off of the wall. "Mother? Katsuro?"

"See, told you someone would still be up." Shippou smiled at Cho. "They're okay, Cho-san. They're just sleeping."

"They _were_ sleeping, you mean." Katsuro's ears swiveled. "Are we back?"

"Hai. I am going to find Hideaki-sama so he can take Mayu-sama." Yuriko jogged into the headman's house.

"Hey, Shippou. Yuriko sounds weird. What's going on?" Katsuro's ears twisted to follow the hawk.

"I'll explain later." Shippou tugged Mayu forward so she was not leaning on Katsuro anymore. "Can you get down by yourself?"

"I think so." Katsuro slid down and landed practically on top of Cho. "Gomen, Cho-chan."

"What is going on, Katsuro-kun?" Cho touched his cheek. "What happened? Where are the others? Did you find Kagome-sama?"

"Mama is fine, she went with father and Merkamou to help Seiji and Mizuki." Katsuro smiled as Cho tugged his chin down to examine him. "It was a successful mission, as Ki-chan would say."

"And what has happened to you, Katsuro."

"Well, there was a little accident."

"Katsuro, I can see Cho-san's expression. Stop stalling for your own safety." Shippou grinned as he supported Mayu.

"I'm blind, Cho-chan. It's just temporary, according to father."

"Katsuro." Cho trailed a hand over his forehead, studying his usually vibrant eyes. There was a faint gray mist over them, and his eyes were not focused on anything.

"I should have known she would return in this state." Hideaki shook his head as he walked to the dragon and his mate. "She was the fiercest opponent I ever faced and she never did learn when to stop."

Shippou handed Mayu over to Hideaki. The Northern Lord lifted his mate carefully, still smiling. "I thought your warrior days were over, Mayu."

Cho watched her parents go inside. "What is father talking about?"

"Your mother put in quite the showing. She was blasting dragons out of the sky." Katsuro leaned in close to her ear. "How are you, Cho?"

"I am in much better condition then you, I am sure." Cho took Katsuro's arm and steered him towards the house. I am going to take him inside, Shippou-san. Do you need any assistance?"

"No, Cho-san. Yuriko will help with Ah-Un. I just want a bed." The kitsune was already pulling the dragon's saddle off.

"It is right where you left it. We can hear the story tomorrow." Cho guided Katsuro up the stairs and through the house. "You will definitely need rest."

"You sound like Mama." Katsuro made a face.

"Since she is not here, someone must ensure that you rest. Isamu is with Akira, my father is with mother. There are no decisions to make tonight, so you can take some time to recover." Cho gave the hanyou a push and he tipped over onto his futon.

"Hey, what was that for?" Katsuro's ears tracked Cho as she moved around his room.

"Just in case you had any doubt of your need for rest." The leopard pulled out clean clothing for him to sleep in. "Can you dress yourself, or should I find Shippou?"

"I'm not totally helpless. Besides, aren't you the one putting me to bed?"

"I am ignoring that question." Cho handed Katsuro his clothes. "I will be just outside."

"You're no fun."

When Katsuro called her back in, Cho found him already sprawled on his futon. "Sleeping on Ah-Un really doesn't do much."

"I can only imagine." Cho knelt next to the hanyou. "Katsuro-kun?"

"Hai?"

"This is just temporary, correct? You will be able to heal?"

The black ears drooped. "I sure hope so. Father did not seem worried, but I'm not as sure. I can't see a thing, Cho. If anything happened, I would be helpless."

"I will stay with you, Katsuro-kun." Cho brushed his hair away from his unseeing eyes.

"Arigato, Cho-chan. I hate this. I hate being this vulnerable."

"Sleep. You will not heal if you do not rest."

"Just for you, Cho-chan."

Long after Katsuro's breathing had evened out, Cho watched him and trailed her fingers through his hair. It felt wonderful to sit with him, listening to him breathe and knowing that he was able to relax because she was there. She rather wished that morning would never come.

'Uh oh.' Cho's mouth quirked up. 'Mizuki will be very amused. Who would have thought that I could ever fall in love?'

----

"No sign of them?"

"For the tenth time, no, Katsuro-kun." Cho rolled her eyes. They were sitting on the wall and enjoying the sun, but Katsuro was hoping that his family would be returning at any moment.

"What was Ki-chan thinking, taking off like that?"

"She was doing what was necessary at the time. If you ask if I can see them again I will leave you here on the wall to find your own way down."

"I'll be good. Who do I hear running off?"

Cho searched for whatever it was that Katsuro had heard. "It is Yuriko-san. It looks as though she is going for a run, or to hunt."

"Shippou's inside, right?"

"Hai. I do not believe he is her prey."

"At least not right now." Katsuro frowned as he thought of the mess surrounding his friends.

"Merkamou-sama will be very upset if he finds out that she was running around alone."

"She's an adult, Cho-chan, and I don't know anyone that would go after her when she's in that mood."

"What if something happens to her?"

Katsuro groaned. "I can't chase her down, who else is dumb enough to go?"

The leopard turned and scanned the courtyard. "Kouga-san!"

"Yup, he's dumb enough." The hanyou yelped when Cho elbowed him, but he did not take back his comment.

"Hai, Cho-sama." Kouga left his companions behind to join his lord's daughter.

"We just noticed Yuriko-san leaving the village. Can you follow her and make sure that she is not harmed?"

Kouga cocked an eyebrow. "I've seen her in a fight. What the hell would she need with a baby sitter?"

"Onegai, Kouga-san. I do not want to worry that something will happen while Merkamou-sama is gone."

"What she means is Yuriko's pissed off and might do something stupid. We don't want to deal with Merkamou-sama if his only offspring gets hurt." Katsuro smiled in Kouga's general direction.

"Why didn't you just say so? I'll keep her alive." Kouga disappeared in a cloud of dust, racing after the hawk.

"How annoyed is Yuriko-san going to be when she notices Kouga-san?" Cho watched the dust trail disappear into the trees.

"Very. Hopefully she'll wait until I can see again before taking her revenge."

"Wishful thinking, Katsuro-kun."

"I know, but it keeps my spirits up."

----

'Baka.'

Yuriko had been running for hours and now the sun was setting. One by one the stars came out, and she gazed up at them.

----

"_Wishes on stars, Mama? That's silly." Yuriko gave her mother her best mature look. "I am too old for that."_

_Rin laughed, giving her daughter's hair a tug. "And what does age have to do with wishing? Your Papa is much older then you, and he wishes on stars."_

"_Papa does many silly things, but I do not think he really believes in that."_

"_I know he does. And I do, too."_

"_Why, Mama?"_

_The deep brown eyes shimmered. "Because that is how he got me."_

"_Really?" Yuriko spun around to look at her mother. "I thought he got into a fight with Sesshomaru-sama to get you."_

"_No, silly. That was just a little . . . misunderstanding. Actually, we both wished for the same thing on shooting stars. Maybe that is why it worked so well."_

"_So, if I make a wish it could really happen?"_

"_Maybe. It helps if you want it so much that you will do anything for it. But wishing certainly will not hurt."_

_Young eyes searched the sky, looking for the perfect star for her wish._

_Rin's breathing changed slightly, her hand going to her chest. To Yuriko's ears the change in the steady rhythm was deafening, and she held her breath like she always did. Only when the beat was back to normal did she breathe again. She knew that one day the rhythm would not fix itself, and then Mama would go away._

_A star fell, and Yuriko's whole heart reached out to grab it._

'_Please, please, let Mama stay with me.'_

----

'Wishes are for fools and children.' Yuriko threw a rock, snapping a branch off of a tree with her force. 'Mama did not stay for long after that. And I almost lost Papa that night as well. If Akane-chan had not found him . . . '

She forced the dark memories away, refusing to live that night over again. 'It does not matter. Mama is gone, and no amount of wishing will bring her back. I have wished for two things in my life, and both have failed miserably.'

"Shippou no baka! Why?" A flash of talons and a tree fell to the ground. "I need you, Mama! I need your help! What am I supposed to do now?"

A small tree was sent flying through the air, making someone yelp and jump away.

Yuriko snapped her sword out, glaring at the bushes. "Who is there? Come out!"

"Easy, hawk. It's just me." Kouga eased out into the clearing.

"And what the hell do you want?"

Kouga grinned at the usually well spoken if impulsive hanyou. "Not to have that aimed at me, for starters."

Yuriko made a face, but put the sword away. "Why are you out here? Did you follow me?"

"Yeah, actually. Oh, don't get all pissy with me. They saw you take off and sent me after you. They don't want to deal with Merkamou-sama losing his fucking mind because his only daughter wandered off."

"Language, Kouga-sama."

"Kouga wha'?" The wolf prince doubled over laughing. "Oh, damn, I haven't laughed that hard in a while."

"And what is so funny?"

"No one calls me that, not even my tribe."

"Last time I asked you were a Northern Lord, and a Prince as well."

"Feh. Titles." Kouga gave an airy wave of his hand. "And what's all the yelling about?"

Yuriko's complexion suddenly matched the silk she was wearing. "It is private."

"Private, huh? Then you better quit yelling about it. Kitsune turned you down, right?"

"What do you know about it?"

"Why else would you be out here yelling about him and trashing the forest? He's a kitsune. They aren't exactly faithful."

"Shippou is not like that."

"Really?" Kouga flashed his fangs in a wicked smile.

"Oh, fine, he is like that." Yuriko sat down with a huff. "It changes nothing. I have been in love with him for so long, and now I know it will never happen. I just kept waiting and hoping and wishing . . . "

"That part I know all about." Kouga plunked down nearby, taking advantage of a freshly downed tree. "I've been there, hawk. Sometimes it just doesn't work."

"But I could . . . "

"Sometimes there's nothing you can do."

"It was Kagome-chan, ne?"

Kouga let his head droop. "They told me she was dead. I believed them. Now I find out she's alive, and with dog-turd's big brother. It's just as impossible now as it would be if she'd died."

"You really did love her."

"Hai. I was so young and so damn stupid. I fucked up, left her with dog-turd when she should've been with me, and I wasn't even there when she fought Naraku."

"So you have been through this."

The wolf prince gave a raspy laugh. "Hai."

"So, what do I do now?"

"I destroyed things. A lot of things. Running helps in a pinch."

"It helped, but smashing things sounds even better. Want to come with me?"

Kouga shrugged and stretched. "Sure, why the hell not? I'm supposed to watching you anyways."

----

Eating was a new challenge for Katsuro, but with a little help he was able to manage. Cho would nudge him back towards his food when needed, and kept him from knocking anything over. Shippou kept glancing at the door, wondering where Yuriko was. It was not like her to miss a meal no matter what her mood was. Mayu had joined them, nicely recovered after sleeping for most of the day, but Akira was still in bed.

Hideaki watched his daughter and the Western heir closely. Cho was obviously drawn to him, and Katsuro had been at her side since he had returned. He could not ask for a better match for his youngest, but the pace that this young male was setting would have them all dying of old age. The boy needed a push.

"Mayu and I are planning on leaving tomorrow morning. With the unease to the East I believe that we need to check on our lands. Cho, have your recuperated enough to return home?"

Cho startled, not at all prepared for that question. It had been months since she had been home. "I suppose so, father."

"Excellent. Then you can travel with us. There is a possible match, and I would like you to be at home in case it is found to be acceptable." Hideaki went back to his meal, ignoring the looks his mate was giving me.

"Oh. I did not know." Cho set her chopsticks down and looked at her hands.

"Is there something pressing in the West? Is your presence still needed?"

Cho looked to Katsuro, who was clearly following the conversation, but he offered nothing. He remained silent and continued to work on his dinner. Confused and hurt, she looked back to her father. "No, I am your daughter. I will come home as you request. If you will excuse me."

Katsuro clenched his free hand into a fist, his mind spinning. 'He wants to take her back! I can't let that happen. I can't just tell him I want her, not when we're talking about the West and North. I hate being the heir! I have to wait for father to get back, whenever that is. Then he has to open negotiations, and hopefully I'll get priority over whoever this other bastard is. I can't let them leave until my family gets back.' Dinner had lost any appeal to him. "Hey, Shippou, can you help me with something?"

"Sure." The kitsune took Katsuro by the arm and walked him out of the hall.

"What the hell are you doing, you old goat?" Mayu slammed a fist on the table. "What match? You know she wants Katsuro-sama, and Kagome-sama can make sure it happens!"

"I am simply giving the young lord a push. There is no other match." Hideaki sipped at his tea, amused by Mayu's sputtering.

"You are playing with fire, Hideaki. Cho is really upset, and things like this are not as easy to plan out as battles."

"Katsuro-sama is quite resourceful, and he will bring all of his skills to bear when the prize is as valuable to him as this one."

Silence reigned as Mayu fumed, trying to plot out all of the possible results of this move.

Hideaki was working through his third cup of tea when Mayu spoke again. "If you are wrong, I will make your life hell for messing this up."

"So this is why no one was looking for us. You were all too busy threatening each other." Kagome smiled as she walked into the hall.

"Kagome-sama! You look well, all things considered. Where are the others?" Mayu smiled at the younger Lady.

"Mizuki and Seiji are with Akira and Isamu. Katsuro grabbed Sesshomaru as soon as we landed, and Merkamou is looking for Yuriko. What's going on?"

"Someone is playing games with Katsuro."

"Oh?" Kagome looked at Hideaki, who was sipping his tea and trying to ignore the both of them.

"I believe I should go and greet Sesshomaru-sama and Merkamou-sama. If you will excuse me." Hideaki bowed to the ladies before leaving.

"What did he do?" Kagome sat next to Mayu.

"He can be more meddlesome then an old woman sometimes. He is trying to push Katsuro into asking for Cho."

"Nani? Why bother? I know Katsuro will ask, and Sesshomaru has already said that he didn't mind."

"He is being impatient in his old age. Cho is the last of his cubs, and he wants to see her settled." Mayu slammed her tea cup down and walked into the kitchen. "I require something stronger then tea. This may very well prove to be a long night."

"I think I'll need some, too. If my head gets any worse Sesshomaru if going to be in here yelling at me to settle down." Kagome followed Mayu into the kitchen.

Mayu retrieved a bottle and two cups, carrying them back into the dining hall. "What shall we drink to?"

"Meddlesome fathers that only want the best for their daughters." Kagome raised her glass, smiling at Mayu's expression.

"Hai, may they finally learn the error of their ways."

----


	91. How to Negotiate

A/N: I'm replying to reviewers at the end, I've just got too many I want to answer this time! As many people have mentioned Kouga and Yuriko, I'm curious on what people think of that pairing. I'm not completely sold either way (no matter what it looks like in this chapter) so you still have a chance to sway me. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who's still with me! Not much left, really. It will all be over soon.

Own nadda.

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"I feel better."

"Me, too."

Yuriko and Kouga huffed as they leaned against a tree, staring at the results of their hunting trip.

"What're we going to do with all of this?"

"I have no idea. I am certain that Nami-chan will find a use for it." Yuriko pushed her hair out of her face. "I must remember this for the next time I am so angry."

"I know why you were yelling at the kitsune, but what's with yelling at your mother?"

"Oh . . . I was just mad, and I miss her. I have always wished that I had known her as an adult. Everyone talks about her like she was amazing."

"She was."

"Nani? You met her?"

"Twice. Once when she was just a little thing, and once when I had to run a stupid fucking errand for Hideaki-sama. She was with Merkamou-sama then."

"What did you think of her?" Yuriko settled to the ground with her arms around her knees.

The wicked smile was back. "The kid? Cute, for a ningen, but damn skittish of me. The adult was a hell of a fighter. I remember seeing her sitting in some council meeting. Now, I was pretty stupid when I was younger. I asked someone who let the ningen in. She heard me."

"Oh, that could not have gone well."

"It didn't. She was really good with that damn dagger of hers. Gave the council a good laugh, with me hopping around with a hole in my leg."

"That sounds like her."

"She was really elegant and calm, came right over to get her dagger back. But the part I remember most? She smiled at me. I know she would've slit my throat in an instant if she thought I was a threat, but she just smiled and asked what my message was. She was that confident. That was what made her so incredible, ya know? A ningen that could just walk into a room full of youkai and demand that everyone shut the hell up. And they would."

"Sugoi." Yuriko leaned her head back to rest on the tree.

"You remind me of her."

"Really?"

"Yeah, when you march into a room like you own it, or you go rushing into battle without a second thought."

"Arigato. She was gone so quickly, not many remember her outside of the Southern Court and they were not all fond of her."

"She was a warrior, not a politician. Of course they hated her. She probably beat the crap out of them."

"All the time." Smiling at last, Yuriko looked over to her new friend. "Arigato, Kouga-san."

"For what?"

"For keeping me company tonight. For telling me stories about Mama."

"Forget about it, hawk. And forget the kitsune while you're at it. They make loyal friends, but lousy mates. Especially the young ones. They've got no clue how to take care of their women. Now wolves, on the other hand . . . "

"Know exactly how to take care of a woman?" Yuriko met Kouga's eyes with a mischievous look.

The blue eyes widened. He had walked right into that one. "Um, well, yeah."

"I will keep that in mind." Yuriko gracefully found her feet. "We should go back before they send a search party."

"Fuck. Hideaki-sama is going to have my balls for this. I'd guess that almost everyone is asleep already."

"Language, Kouga-san."

"Oh, forget it. Nothing's going to change me at this point. I don't know why I was even sent after you. You're the last creature that needs a damn babysitter."

Yuriko laughed, feeling rather flattered. "Then you can explain that to my father when he returns."

"I think you'll have better luck explaining it yourself. Race you back?"

"You are on."

Even without his jewel shards, Kouga had several lengths over Yuriko by the time they arrived back at the village. He skidded to a halt, laughing as Yuriko jumped off of the wall to join him. "So, what do I win, hawk?"

"If you are lucky, I will let you keep your life."

"Shit." Kouga turned around to see Merkamou and Hideaki watching them. "When did you get back, Merkamou-sama?"

"A candle mark ago, and imagine my thoughts when no one can find my daughter, who was last seen with a certain wolf prince." Merkamou stalked towards Kouga, his hand resting on his sword.

"I was keeping an eye on her, Merkamou-sama. Cho-sama asked me to." The threat was not lost on Kouga, who dropped his hand to his own sword.

"She should not have been running around in the woods at night. Especially not with you."

"And what does that mean?"

"I think you know what that means." The wind began to whip around them, blowing the dust up to whirl around the wolf.

"Stop it, the both of you!" Yuriko shoved her way in front of Kouga. "Papa, I am fine. I went out for a run, and Kouga-san was following me. Nothing happened!"

"You know better, Yuriko." The taiyoukai did not take his eyes off of Kouga. "I do not know this male, and do not trust him."

The wind continued to pick up speed, forcing Hideaki back to the main house. Merkamou's eyes had picked up a red edge. Kouga stood his ground, drawing his sword. "I didn't touch her! What the hell do you think I am?"

"I said stop it! I am not a chick anymore, Papa!" The hanyou shoved her father, finally getting his attention. "I am an adult, and a fighter in my own right! I do not need you to watch my every move!"

"Enough, Yuriko! I am your father, and it is my duty to keep you safe."

"No, I am done being the perfect daughter. I am going to start making my own choices!"

"Move, Yuriko!" Kouga shoved the hawk out of the way so he could lunge at the taiyoukai. Merkamou never moved, but a blast of wind knocked the wolf away.

"Leave him out of this! It has nothing to do with him!" The little hawk punched her father in the chest, making him break his attention away and let the wind die down. "I will do things my own way from now on!"

Yuriko spun around, walked over to the confused wolf, grabbed onto him, and kissed him. She broke away and took off for the headman's house.

'I'm dead. There is no way in hell I'm going to survive this.' Kouga tried to kick his mind back into action as he watched the impulsive hanyou's father. 'But if I'm going to go, that is a damn good reason.'

Merkamou stared, his jaw hanging slightly open. The only sound was a smothered laugh from Hideaki, who was still watching the show.

"Merkamou-sama, I had no idea she was going to pull that." The wolf prince took half a step back.

The Lord of the South burst out laughing, holding onto his side as he doubled over. "Oh, the look on your face, Kouga-san. I suppose I deserved that."

"You did, Merkamou-sama." Hideaki came down the stairs. "I made that mistake with my first daughter, and it ended with quite a bit of smashed pottery."

Kouga stared at both of the taiyoukai. "So, you're not going to gut me?"

"I could not right now even if I wanted to. I just keep seeing your expression." Merkamou doubled over again, wheezing.

"No offense, my lord, but your daughter is a fucking nut."

The hawk lord wiped tears from his face. "I am quite aware of that. Where do you think she inherited that behavior from?"

----

"Do you hear that?"

Kagome cocked her head. "Nope, but I don't have your hearing. What is it?"

"My brother is throwing a temper tantrum." Akane smiled to the ladies as she walked in. "I can hear him yelling, and Yuriko is yelling back at him. I was going to check on him when I felt his powers surge, but then I heard his dear daughter's name and decided to not waste my breath. They are both far too stubborn."

"Should we go out there?" The miko looked nervous. "If Merkamou is that upset. . . "

"Let them be, Kagome-sama. They have been overdue for this."

"Join us, Akane-san." Mayu shook the sake bottle at her. "We have been having the most fascinating discussion about males and how they think."

"This should be a brief conversation." Akane went to find a cup of her own.

"I am going to kill all of them!"

"That sounded like Yuriko-chan." Kagome looked up to see the little hawk storm by the door. "Hey, Yuriko! What's wrong?"

"Papa is fighting with Kouga-san because he dared to be seen with me, Kouga-san is being as stubborn as an ox, and Shippou is an idiot!" Yuriko stopped in the doorway, her arms crossed.

"Would you like a drink, Yuriko-san?" Mayu gave her bottle another shake.

"Hai." Yuriko slammed down onto a cushion.

"Better make that two glasses, Akane!" Kagome called to the kitchen.

"I had a feeling my niece would be joining us." Akane brought two glasses and a new bottle of sake with her. "So, little one, please start at the beginning."

"Well, Shippou is an idiot is where it starts. He does not even see me as a female, but just as a friend. How could he be so blind? Or me, for that matter?" The glass Mayu offered was downed in one try.

"Wait a minute, you were after Shippou?" Kagome tipped her head to the side.

"Hai. I have been for ages, Kagome-chan. I should have made my intentions known long ago instead of being such a coward."

"That explains Shippou-san, but where does Kouga-san come in?" Mayu poured another drink for the hawk.

"Your daughter sent him after me to make sure nothing happened while I was out in the forest. We ended up going hunting, and Papa completely lost his mind when I returned with him so late." Yuriko took the offered drink, but sipped instead of gulping.

"So Kouga and Merkamou are out front fighting?" Kagome jumped up. "They'll kill each other!"

"They are probably distracted. I think I made my point to Papa."

"What did you do, Yuriko-chan?" The miko sat back down, still looking concerned.

"I told Papa that I would not be his perfect daughter anymore, and then I . . . "

"You what, Yuriko-chan?"

"Oh, what was I thinking? I hardly know him!"

"Yuriko!"

"I kissed him."

Kagome and Mayu both felt their jaws drop. Akane nearly dropped her drink. "You kissed Kouga-san? In front of Merkamou?"

Yuriko ducked her head. "Hai."

The three ladies could not help it. They laughed until they had to rest their heads on the table.

The young hawk looked uneasy. "This is serious! Do you think Papa is going to kill Kouga-san?"

"I hope not, because I can't wait to razz that wolf for this one." Kagome wiped at her eyes. "Way to go, Yuriko! I think you may have finally gotten your Papa's attention!"

"Unless, of course, he just kills Kouga-san."

"Come on, ladies. We should go watch this. And bring the bottle, Mayu." Kagome jumped to her feet and led the way to the courtyard.

Outside, Merkamou and Hideaki were still laughing with a perplexed Kouga staring at them. Kagome, Akane, and Mayu settled down with their bottle to watch the show, with Yuriko fidgeting behind them. Mizuki came out shortly afterwards, hearing the disturbance.

"Well, mother, you have been back for less then a night and already the chaos has started. I am beginning to believe Merkamou-sama's theory about you being the source of all chaos." Mizuki leaned against the wall beside Yuriko.

"Hush, you'll ruin my fun." Kagome let Mayu refill her glass. "We missed the show, but I think I see your father coming, so this could become more interesting."

"I think I will find Cho. I have not had a chance to greet her yet." Mizuki pushed away from the wall.

"When you find her, please tell her that I would like to speak to her." Mayu took another drink. "I need to do some repair work."

"As you wish, Mayu-sama." The inu-hanyou bowed and went back inside.

Akane gazed after the inu-hanyou. "So, she is mated with Seiji-san now?"

"Hai." Kagome was somewhat disappointed to see Kouga being allowed to leave, but kept her hopes up when Sesshomaru called Hideaki and Merkamou over. He was standing with Katsuro and Shippou in a small huddle. "What are you going to tell Cho?"

The leopard growled quietly. "The truth. I will not let her father mess this up."

Kouga took Mizuki's former place against the wall next to Yuriko. "Care to explain yourself, hawk? You almost got me killed."

"I was proving a point." Yuriko could not make herself look at him, just too embarrassed by what she had done.

"Well, next time you want to prove a point, just do it when your father isn't breathing down my damn neck. I'd really rather stay alive."

"I am sorry if I offended you, Kouga-san." The dark hair and feathers hid Yuriko's face. 'And after he was so nice to me, he will never talk to me again.'

"Offended me?" Kouga laughed, pushing his hair back. "You make me laugh more then anyone I know. You can prove that point any time you want, hawk, as long as your precious Papa isn't around."

Yuriko's jaw dropped.

"He is flirting with you, Yuriko-chan," Akane whispered.

"Nani?" The hawk stared at her aunt.

"We'll explain later." The miko chuckled with Mayu and Akane, raising their glasses to each other.

All of the males were in a huddle, discussing something. The scene was not as entertaining as Kagome had hoped for. Mayu finished her bottle, and Akane opened the new bottle she had brought with her. The three ladies giggled and gossiped, scandalizing Yuriko and Kouga.

"I still watch the hand-to-hand practices. It is always an excellent showing of young, fit males." Mayu kept her innocent expression as she sipped on her drink. Seeing the shocked looks directed at her, she blushed. "I am mated, not dead."

"You wished to see me, mother."

Cho looked rather haggard, and Mizuki looked murderous.

"Mayu-sama, I must say that I am tempted to harm your mate." The inu-hanyou glared at the back of Hideaki's head. "What game is he playing at?"

"He is trying to force Katsuro to act, Cho. There is no other match." Mayu tugged her daughter down to sit next to her.

"That is not the concern. Katsuro-san does not seem interested." Cho played with the ends of her hair. "He said nothing to me or father. He just walked away."

"Baka." Mizuki marched towards the huddle of youkai lords. She caught her father's eye as she approached, but he said nothing. He would let her deal with the situation on her own.

"Excuse me, my lords, but I need to speak with my brother." As though they were nothing put a group of low ranking soldiers, Mizuki pushed the Lords aside and grabbed her brother by his collar. "Now."

Katsuro struggled as he was hauled away by his older sister. "What is it, Ki-chan?"

"You are an idiot, shatei." Mizuki chucked her brother against a wall.

"You had to haul me all the way over here to say that?"

"Cho was crying because she believes that you will not fight for her. She is planning to leave with her family tomorrow."

"Nani?" Katsuro wished again that he could see. How could he guess Cho's moods when he was handicapped like this? "I was being calm, and organized, and thinking before I jumped, and all of that other crap you keep telling me to do! I went to father, and he is talking to Hideaki-sama about her right now!"

"You forgot one thing in all of your planning, shatei. As usual, you missed one crucial detail."

"Mated for one day and all of a sudden she thinks she's an expert."

Mizuki pinned her brother, glaring at him. "This has nothing to do with me. You are speaking of my closest friend's happiness. You know that I am rather protective of her, and if she is unhappy because my little brother made a foolish mistake, I will correct it."

"I made her cry?"

"Hai." Mizuki released her brother. "She is quite upset."

"I really screwed up, didn't I?"

"Hai."

"Can you walk me over?"

"Nani?"

Katsuro gritted his teeth. "I'll explain later, and you'll have a great laugh, but just walk me over there, and make sure I grab onto Cho and not Mayu-sama or someone else. I don't need to be humiliated anymore tonight."

Mizuki guided Katsuro over by his elbow, suddenly aware of the way he was not focusing on things. "You are blind, shatei."

"Not completely. I can see some light and shadow now, but it's still pretty bad. It's temporary, so don't freak out."

"I have never and will never 'freak out'." Mizuki spotted Cho getting to her feet, ready to flee. "Cho, halt."

"I am not a soldier of yours, Mizuki." Cho spun around to glare at her friend.

"Shatei needs to speak with you."

"I do not believe we have anything to say to each other."

"Now this is getting good." Akane refilled her glass.

"Cho, stop." Hoping he would not look like an idiot, Katsuro trusted his memory and the few shadows he could see to approach Cho. "Talk to me."

Kagome clasped her hands together, her eyes shining. The huddle of youkai had all stopped their conversation to watch the small drama unfolding in front of them. Even Kouga and Yuriko were watching.

"What do you want me to say, Katsuro-san?" Cho was glad that Katsuro could not see her and would not be able to tell how shaken she was.

"I want you to tell me that you will stay with me. I don't want you to go." Katsuro took a chance and grabbed for Cho's hand. 'My eyes must be improving. I got it on the first try.'

"I do not have a say in that choice. That is for my father to decide."

"Damn it all, Cho, talk to me!"

Cho startled back, only to be tugged against Katsuro's chest by her captured hand.

"I don't care about alliances or lands or any of that. I care about what you want, and I really want that to be me."

"Katsuro."

"I'll figure out a way, and to hell with what our fathers think. Just tell me what you want and I'll make it happen for you, whether it's me or not. But I have to know, what do you want?" Katsuro trailed his fingers down her hair, his heart pounding.

"You, Katsuro."

"Really?"

Cho made a face. "What did I just say, Katsuro-kun?"

"Yes!" Katsuro picked Cho up and spun her around, sending the audience scrambling for cover. As soon as her feet touched the ground he kissed her, ignoring the spontaneous applause and comments from their audience.

"It's just so perfect!" Kagome was a pile of mush, leaning against the equally starry eyed Mayu and Akane.

"I guess this means that negotiations are over." Merkamou ducked away from Sesshomaru, smiling when the taiyoukai's slash missed.

"She was always so well behaved before she befriended Mizuki-san. It is appropriate that she joins your pack, Sesshomaru-sama." Hideaki rubbed his temples. "However, I believe Merkamou-sama is correct. I have no doubt that Katsuro-sama would defy us if we tried to stop them."

"And I suspect that my daughter would help them." Sesshomaru caught his daughter's eye. Mizuki was standing off to the side in the shadows, watching her brother's display. He saw a brief glimpse of sadness before the eyes were as expressionless as always. "We do not want to face them both."

"Very true, to say nothing about what our mates would do. I never saw Cho as one of the Ladies of Japan."

"She will do well." Sesshomaru walked away to stand with his daughter, now watching the miko hug Cho. "Mizuki."

"It simplifies negotiations." The sapphire eyes looked up to the gold ones.

"Hai. You did as well."

"True." Mizuki gave a small shake of her head. "Please excuse me."

Sesshomaru stayed in the shadows and watched her walk away. 'Patience, daughter.'

----

"And what was all of the commotion?" Seiji found his mate in the kitchen, staring at a bottle of sake but drinking tea.

"It seems that my brother has picked a mate for himself." Mizuki still felt uncomfortable around Seiji, unsure of how she should act. 'It was simpler when I could just tell him I hated him and leave.'

"I assume that it is my Aunt Cho. What a tight little group we are creating. Who's lands will I be able to annex when I am Lord?" The dragon grabbed a glass and poured himself a drink. "I will not be able to attack your brother, and now he will ally with the North. Can we annex the South?"

"It depends. Not while Merkamou is in power, and not if Yuriko is the Lady. They are both pack. If it is someone else then it should be possible."

"Why are you still awake, Mizuki? If you are up much longer it will be tomorrow. All of the participants in your brother's activities are already preparing for sleep."

Mizuki forced herself to remain still and not fidget like a nervous pup. "I am not ready to sleep yet."

"I can sleep somewhere else, if that is the problem."

"Our sleeping arrangements are a moot point, Seiji."

"You have been avoiding me again."

The hanyou set down her tea cup before she accidentally crushed it.

"I never took you for a coward, Mizuki."

Furious, Mizuki looked up at that damn dragon. "I am not a coward."

"Then stop running away."

"I do not run away from anything."

"You have been running away from me since we first met." Seiji grabbed her empty teacup and refilled it with some of the sake he was drinking. "If I am not in the room, will you go to bed?"

"Your presence has no effect on when or where I will go to sleep." Mizuki snatched up the glass and downed the contents. "I am simply trying to keep from tiring you of my presence so early in the partnership."

"No." Seiji refilled the hanyou's glass. "I suspect what you are actually saying is that you are not certain if your presence is welcome."

The sapphire eyes narrowed.

"I am learning to speak your language, Mizuki. I have been working on it for months now. Your presence is welcome, as long as you are not actively trying to kill me."

"And what will it take to keep you from tiring of my presence? Am I to be nothing more then the source of the next generation?"

Seiji chuckled. "I doubt you would ever allow that. Your tactical abilities are well known, and the guard that you control has a reputation of its own."

Mizuki let her shoulders sag. "It is a relief to know that I will not be considered completely worthless when I arrive."

"So, we are now coming to the root of the matter."

"Hn."

"I have discussed this with my mother, and she is quite eager to have you as a military advisor. You can keep your rank as Commander, with your own unit to lead. I am certain that you will be a General before too long, but there is no need to rush."

"You talked to her?" Mizuki's eyes locked on to Seiji's. "Why?"

"The impossible victory against Tsuki. Mother was still talking about it when I left her tonight, and even father was impressed. I could not let that go to waste." Seiji smiled. "Or you."

"Arigato, Seiji."

"Have you settled enough to sleep now?"

"Hai." Mizuki staggered a bit as she climbed to her feet.

"Why do I suspect you have no head for sake?"

"I would not know. I have never tried it before."

Seiji caught her arm, supporting her as she walked to the room they now shared. "Too afraid of losing control?"

"I have not lost control." Mizuki snatched her arm away roughly. She suddenly found herself pressed against the wall, Seiji looking into her eyes. "What are you doing, Seiji?"

"Father was worried about this combination from the start, saying that we would be too volatile and that we would destroy each other. We are both made up of jagged edges and sharp points, and neither of us is meant to be close to others."

Mizuki sighed, relaxing so that she was not fighting him anymore. "Hai. I told you as much myself."

"However, I told him that if there is anyone stubborn and strong enough to survive you, it is me. And I do enjoy a challenge."

A soft, unhurried kiss was pressed against Mizuki's lips.

"Could you two do that in your room?" Shippou made a face, sliding open the door to his room so he could go to bed. "Honestly, if anyone ever told me that I'd be stuck watching Mizuki make out in the hallway I would've thought they were nuts."

Mizuki blushed, realizing that position she was in.

"Move along, kitsune." Seiji's voice held more then a hint of a growl.

"Have fun!" The kitsune disappeared into his room without another comment.

"Come, Mizuki. We should retire."

She let Seiji tug her down the hallway, her mind spinning from more then the alcohol. Once inside of their own room, she caught him by the kimono and forced him against the wall. "I am at least as strong and stubborn as you, Seiji. And I also enjoy a challenge."

--------------

A/N:

hentai18ancilla: No fair predicting my moves! Ah, well, I won't change now. I can't plot out everything or this story will never end. I do have some one-shots planned to fill in the details, but this damn beast must end some day! As much as I love this little universe, it's just so long!

Foxy: Duly noted, that is one vote for no Kouga. I may have to get my sister to write about the night that Rin died, since it is a very dark story. I know what happened, but angst is not my strength. I may try to get her to write it as a one shot.

SJ: Not telling! Yes, I'm a wench.

Gppr: Hey, missed you, too! She is kind of like Rin, except that she's been pining over Shippou for so long, but its not going to happen (at least not right now).

blackXheart: Been there, done that, inspired the last line. Blah.

Matimay: currently, Ayame is in the mountains and slowly but surely taking over. As I said, I haven't completely decided their fates yet. He may very well go home and go after her. Or not. We'll see.

Nilee: I was going through my past messages, and thanks for checking up on me!


	92. To Be Happy

A/N: Nope, not dead. The holidays are nuts! I got my first real flame, sent to my personal e-mail, no less. My muse went into hiding for about a month. Pretty shocking that I've been writing this thing for a year and never gotten a flame before. Anyways, I bribed her back out since I've had several readers e-mailing and reviewing, wanting to know how the story ends. For that matter, so do I. Here, little muse, want a nice donut?

A huge thank you to everyone that wrote to check on me and poke at me. You are the reason that I have decided to finish this and to duly ignore that one nasty soul. Who would've thunk that I was such a wimp about these things? Oh, I'm renaming it, on and Single Spark, since the three names run together looks dumb. :-) Still own nothing.

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'What the . . . Where am I?' Kagome looked around, seeing leaves rustling in the breeze. 'Am I in a tree?'

'Hai.'

The miko swung her eyes up to her mate's, perplexed. 'And how did I end up in a tree?'

'I brought you here.'

'Okay, fair enough. Now for the million yen question. Why did you bring me to a tree?'

'You were not sleeping well. The occupants of the house were not settling down, and you kept waking up.'

'Oh.' Kagome snuggled into his chest. 'That's so sweet.'

'Hn.'

'It's really kind of funny that you even think with that 'hn' sound.' She stretched up to brush her lips against his. 'And it doesn't change the fact that this was very sweet of you.'

'I could simply drop her from the tree and end this line of conversation.'

'I can still hear you, you know.'

'That will make it more difficult.'

Cobalt eyes narrowed as Kagome glared at Sesshomaru. 'You're a pain, you know that, right?'

The inu-youkai's eyes swung away from her, and his attention was suddenly riveted on the surrounding trees. Kagome followed his thoughts with her own eyes and senses, trying to find what was disturbing him. 'What is it?'

'Youkai. A group of them, and they are moving towards the exterminators' village.'

'Do you know how many there are?'

'Around fifty.'

'And I don't have my bow. What shall we do, oh great and terrifying Sesshomaru?'

The sarcastic comment got her a raised eyebrow from the taiyoukai.

'One day it's going to get stuck like that.'

'We are going to wait here. They will be coming close enough for us to ascertain what they are doing, so long as we stay hidden.' Sesshomaru shifted slightly, changing his grip on the miko to one that would allow him to move quickly.

'Got it. You pull in your youki, I'll do what I can with my aura, and we'll wait very quietly.'

It did not take long before the group of youkai were practically passing underneath their tree. Kagome made a face. 'They're kind of a sad looking group, aren't they?'

'Do you recognize the uniforms?'

'I don't think so, but I've seen a lot of different uniforms lately.'

'They are from the East. I believe they are after Akira.'

Kagome jerked up straight. 'We have to stop them! They're in bad shape, the two of us can take care of it before they even get to the village.'

Sesshomaru glared at his mate. 'There is no need for you to endanger yourself. I can deal with them.'

'One day you're going to accept the fact that the fates have decided that I should be a walking target for danger. For pity's sake, look at who my mate is!'

'You have no weapons.'

'I'll improvise. They're getting away!'

'This is not a sound plan.' Sesshomaru leapt down from the tree, Kagome in his arms. 'However, trying to keep you away is an even worse plan.'

'Exactly. Let's go!'

With the physical contact broken, the couple had to rely on other means of communication. Fortunately there was not much left to discuss. Sesshomaru drew Tokijin, while Kagome dropped down to pick up some rocks. With a quick wink to her mate, the miko hurled the handful of rocks into the midst of the group that was trying to arrive at the village undetected.

Whatever the pebbles hit exploded, including several of the youkai. Complete chaos broke out, with the soldiers running in all directions and yelling. The first two that Sesshomaru cut down did not even see him, but the third did and gave the chaos a healthy dose of panic.

"Sesshomaru!"

Kagome snorted when the youkai tried to stampede away from the inu-youkai. She had circled around to the other side, and several youkai slammed into a barrier that she had erected to keep them from escaping.

"Witch!"

"I'm not a witch, I'm miko! I'm just not very good at it." Kagome's barrier pulsed, finishing off two unlucky youkai and frightening the rest back towards the taiyoukai that was waiting for them.

This group was in a sad condition to start with, and Sesshomaru was cutting through them like a farmer in the field. Why this group had been sent to try for Akira again was beyond him. It made absolutely no sense.

Kagome was leaving most of the blood shed and terror to her mate. He really did have a flair for it, while she could barely stomach it. One of the purified youkai had been carrying a katana, and she now clutched it tightly while she waited for Sesshomaru to finish off the stragglers. It had been a while since she had fought with one, but hopefully it would come back to her.

The barrier dealt with most of the soldiers. The size of it was draining her, though, and she needed to deal with one or two that managed to break through. The katana was too large for her, but it helped her cause that she only needed to get in one hit to turn them into a pile of dust. With each soldier, she had a harder time holding up her barrier. She took the time to glance over at her mate, to see how much longer she had to hold things together.

One of the soldiers had slipped around behind Sesshomaru, and Kagome was not about to let this possibility play out.

There was a dagger on the ground, and it would serve her purposes. The dagger flashed through the air, close enough to Sesshomaru to skim his clothing. The target youkai had raised his sword, aiming for the back of the great lord's neck. Kagome was in a panic, and threw everything she had into her attack, completely dropping her barrier and throwing that energy into her attack as well. She did not even notice the youki energy that was also drawn into her attack.

Sesshomaru felt the tug on his power, and felt the wild surge from his mate. He saw the dagger flying past him, and scarcely had time to bring Tokijin up before everything exploded.

The youkai she hit exploded in a blast of spiritual and youki power that radiated out until it engulfed the entire area. Sesshomaru and all of the other youkai were thrown back violently, and the smell of burnt hair and silk filled the air.

"Sesshomaru!" Kagome picked through the battle field, ignoring the piles of ash that had been the youkai. She could barely see, or stay on her feet, but she had to reach him. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to destroy everything like that, just the one that was behind you."

"Miko." The amber eyes opened and locked onto hers. "Training."

"Hai, jo-chan." The miko stumbled and fainted dead away, taking her mate with her.

----

"And just when Katsuro was preparing to go out looking for the two of you, despite the fact he cannot see. What the hell happened?" Merkamou was outside of the headman's house when Kagome and Sesshomaru returned. He could not miss the burn marks on Sesshomaru's clothing, or the tired look in Kagome's eyes. "Did you two have a fight?"

The miko grinned at him. "Hai, but not with each other."

"Now, I am somewhat forgetful, but those marks look suspiciously like your energy, Kagome-sama." Merkamou looked Sesshomaru over. "Are you sure that you are not responsible for his condition?"

"I never said that I wasn't responsible, I just said we weren't fighting each other."

"Sesshomaru-sama, can you translate for me?"

"An overly enthusiastic attack."

"Ah." The hawk grinned at Kagome. "Did someone startle you, perhaps?"

"You're going to be next, trouble maker." Kagome crossed her arms and stuck her nose up in the air. "Just so happens that there was a group of soldiers heading towards the village, probably for Akira, and we got rid of them."

"Soldiers?" All of the playfulness was gone from Merkamou's tone. "Do we need to go after them?"

"They are gone now. I will find Akira." Sesshomaru walked into the headman's house.

"It never stops, does it?" The hawk glanced at the blood on Kagome's clothes. It was clearly not hers, but it was still unsettling. "Now what shall we do, old friend."

"That threat is gone, and they were in pretty bad shape to begin with. It's just more things that we can't deal with right now. That's the kind of stuff we have to put aside if the youkai are going to make it." Kagome rubbed at her temples. "That's the whole reason I asked everyone to come here."

"It seems so long ago that we agreed to come and discuss the future. Perhaps they will be more willing to listen to you now, after what has happened."

"I hope so. Have you made up your mind, Merkamou?"

"Hai. As I have said, my court will be much harder to find from now own. I do not know how I am going to accomplish this, but I will find a way. I will not risk Akane or Yuriko." The hawk's eyes were tired as he looked at the miko. "There will be those that refuse. There will be bloodshed and chaos during this transition."

"I know. But if we don't do anything, everyone will die." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Maybe we all do anyways."

"Enough. Sesshomaru can be the pessimist. It is our duty to see the positive possibilities."

"Katsuro's a big enough optimist for all of us. But you're right." Kagome have herself a shake, pushing the dark mood away. "Let's go see what Sesshomaru and Akira have come up with. I'm sure Isamu's having a complete fit over this."

"After you, my lady."

The dragon in question was on her feet for the first time since her injury, slowly pacing while Isamu tried to interrogate Sesshomaru.

"There might have only been fifty that time, but there might have been more! Did you even look for others?"

The inu-youkai did not move. He simply stared at the leopard until the young male started to squirm. "They were the only group."

"Are you sure of that? We are talking about my mate's life, after all." Isamu glanced over at Kagome, who was now standing in the doorway with Merkamou.

"Isamu, shut up." The miko marched up to the leopard and poked him in the chest. "You don't think I'm concerned about Akira? There's no one else out there, at least not right now."

Akira stopped her pacing, turning to face all of her guests. "I believe you, Kagome-sama. I also believe that there will be more attacks until I can bring the East back under control. My son and your daughter were able to regain control of our home, but it will still be war until I have returned and crushed the remnants of that traitorous family."

"More fighting." Kagome rubbed her temples. "So, when are you leaving?"

"Today. I cannot wait any longer."

"Hideaki is leaving today, too. But not before I get to talk to everyone! Isamu, go find your father and bring him here. I need to see him before he leaves."

Isamu looked down his nose at the little ningen. "The last time I checked, I was not a part of the Western Lands, much less a servant."

"What is it with you and your amnesia?" Kagome brought up one hand, glowing brightly. "Don't make me ask you twice."

"And you are the one complaining about the violence." The leopard did manage to leave the room without looking like he was running away.

"Come and sit down, Akira-sama." Kagome rearranged some cushions and beckoned the dragon over. "You really shouldn't be up for so long. Are you sure you're going to leave today?"

"You know I must. I will not be able to travel with much speed, so it is perfectly possible that Seiji and Mizuki will pass us, even if we start a day or two ahead of them." Akira settled to the cushions with considerable grace, considering that she was still recovering from having most of her torso blown away.

'I didn't think of that. This means . . . Mizuki is going to be leaving in the East now. My little girl is going to be so far away!' Kagome dropped to the cushions with none of the dragon's grace, her mind nowhere near the room she was sitting in.

"Kagome-sama, I had no intention of leaving without bidding you farewell. You must not think I am in that much of a rush to leave your company." Hideaki bowed and smiled politely at the two ladies.

"No, no, Hideaki. I just wanted to get everyone together one last time before everyone took off." Kagome worried her lip, looking at Isamu. "If I let you stay, do you promise to behave? No yelling?"

"I am not a cub, Kagome-sama." Isamu gave the miko a glare. "However, if it will make you more comfortable, I give my word to keep my voice at a moderate level and to keep my temper under control."

'Look at the little youkai lord.' Kagome managed to keep from snorting, but she did wave Isamu over to sit down. "Okay, Akira-sama, what are your plans?"

The dragon lifted her tired eyes to her one friend. "I cannot simply go home and submit or disappear. I thank you for your warning, and I will consider it. It is the best that I can offer you."

"And you, Hideaki-sama?"

"I have never been as visible as these younger courts." The older leopard leaned against the wall, studying the much younger lords and ladies. "I agree with Akira-sama that we do not need to simply submit without looking at all of our options. However, I see no issue with dropping out of ningen sight. Few come to my mountains as it is."

"Can I ask for one other thing? You as well, Akira-sama?"

"Ask, Kagome-sama. I will do it if possible."

"A truce. All of us. We stop fighting with each other so we can concentrate on other threats." The miko looked at them all, her eyes earnest. "No matter what you believe or don't believe, now is not the time to be invading each other!"

Isamu murmured in Akira's ear, too quiet for even the youkai to hear, but the dragon nodded at him. "We do not see an issue with this, since we were looking for a truce when we matched Seiji with Mizuki-san. I do not wish to deal with another war until I have dealt with the current one."

"Spoken like a true dragon." Merkamou gave the annoyed lady a smile. "As long as I am left alone, I will leave the others alone."

"You are not generally considered to be a threat." Hideaki glanced at the hawk, half a smile in his expression. "You have not led an offensive since you gained your position, or your father before you, unless it is at Sesshomaru-sama's side."

"It would be your mistake to dismiss me that easily, Hideaki-sama." The friendly smile grew more feral, with some fang behind it. "Just because I have not yet cast my eyes to the North does not mean I never will."

"Knock it off, the both of you." Kagome slapped her palm against the floor, calling all eyes back to herself. "I thought we were just discussing not cutting each other to pieces."

"I apologize, Kagome-sama. I will restrain myself from annexing anyone else's lands for the time being." Merkamou's expression swapped back to its usual jovial look.

"Hideaki-sama? Can I get the same agreement from you?"

"Hai, my lady. I will also refrain for the time being. There are other things to occupy my attention. There is no need to plan for a southern palace at this time."

'Gonna kill the both of them. Of course Merkamou picks now to start acting like a taiyoukai.' Kagome rubbed her temples. "Isamu? Do you have anything to say?"

"Just that Merkamou-sama had best keep his eyes off of the East."

'Gah! Make that three youkai in desperate need of having bits purified off!' The miko glanced over at her mate. "Good enough?"

"Hai." The inuyoukai was not concerned about the hawk. Their alliance was as strong as ever, and his status as a pack member promised to keep it that way. Hideaki would most likely retire to his Northern fortress and not emerge again for another fifty or one hundred years. It was only the dragon that he needed to watch, and that was nothing new.

"Fine. We all stay out of each other's hair." Kagome took a deep breath. "Please, please think about what I've said. I don't want everyone to be destroyed."

Isamu looked at Akira, questions and comments clear in his expression, but his mate made a small gesture and he remained quiet. "I will stay in touch, Kagome-sama."

Sesshomaru touched Kagome lightly on her arm. 'Do not push them.'

She glanced at him, startled, but gave him a quick nod. "Arigato, Akira-sama. And to you, Hideaki-sama."

"Mayu will wish to say her farewells, Kagome-sama. I am certain she is waiting impatiently for me." Hideaki bowed elegantly, waving towards the door.

"Of course I'm going to say good bye." Kagome jumped to her feet, leading Hideaki out of the room.

Without his mate in the room, the Western Lord turned his gaze to the remaining youkai. "Akira."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama."

"If you come over the border, I will destroy you." The inu-youkai's cold voice dropped the temperature of the entire room.

"A threat, Sesshomaru?" Isamu bristled next to Akira.

"I do not make threats." Sesshomaru easily rose to his feet, looking down at the injured dragon and young snow leopard. "The Western Court will become hidden, but do not think that I will not be able to strike you down should the need arise."

"I thought your little ningen just finished saying that we need to stop fighting amongst ourselves."

"She wishes to allow you a chance. Do not make her regret the decision."

Sesshomaru glanced at Merkamou.

"This has been fun, but I do wish to bid Mayu-sama and Hideaki-sama farewell before I return to my own lands. Akira-sama, a pleasure to see you again, and I do hope to have the pleasure of your company in the near future. Isamu . . . well . . . there does seem to be some progress. Perhaps there is hope for you yet." Merkamou bowed to the couple.

"Such a statement from Southern Lord. A weakling that could never hold his lands without Sesshomaru-sama to watch over him, and you are mocking me?" Isamu stood and looked down his nose at the shorter lord.

Merkamou looked the leopard up and down. "This did not end well for you last time, cub. Do you really need a repeat of that lesson?"

"Enough." Akira looked up at Isamu, her expression slightly annoyed. "There is no point to this."

"I do not take weaklings as allies." Sesshomaru left the room, leaving the other taiyoukai blinking behind him.

"I guess that there is nothing left for me to say, ne?" Merkamou grinned and bowed once more before following Sesshomaru out.

The dragon glared up at her mate. "Hai, you have improved, but you have much to learn yet, Isamu."

"You sound like my mother." Isamu dropped down next to her.

Akira surprised the leopard by simply sighing and resting her head against his shoulder. "Timing, my mate. You must learn timing. Now is most definitely not the time to make new enemies. Later you can decide where you would like to expand, when we are in a position to actually do something about it."

"And in the meantime, you expect me to just sit here and look defenseless?"

"Not defenseless, but you should not look like a threat either. Let them believe that we are harmless for the time being."

"If you insist."

"I do." Akira struggled to her feet, making Isamu jump up to help her. "We must leave today. The situation in the East must be worse then I thought if there are still units looking to kill me."

"If you are sure that you can." Isamu did not even attempt to hide the concern in his eyes. "Another day will not make that much of a difference."

"Hai, you do need to learn more about timing." The dragon shook her head, moving unsteadily across the room. "We leave today, as soon as possible. The East is mine, and it shall remain that way."

"And when are you going to tell me what that miko was talking about?"

"I cannot tell you everything, but I will tell you what I can." Akira smiled to herself. 'Come what may, I will not break my word to Kagome.'

----

"Shatei."

Katsuro turned when he heard his sister's voice, and was rather relieved to see a shadow that was vaguely shaped like her. Another day or two, and his eyes would be healed. "Hai, Ki-chan?"

"Walk with me."

"You really sound like father. What's up?" Katsuro turned when she set her hand on his elbow and steered him to the village gate. She said nothing until they had moved a fair distance away from the hustle and bustle of the departing youkai lords.

"I need to speak with you."

"Did I upset Cho again?" Katsuro replayed last night in his mind. 'She seemed pretty damn happy. Probably woke everyone up at least once, but that's not a reason to be mad at me. I don't think it is, anyways.'

"No, shatei. This is about me."

"What about you, Ki-chan?"

Mizuki stopped and sat with her back against a tree, her brother next to her. "You know that Seiji and I are mates now, correct?"

"How could I not know? You came back smelling like him, and Shippou said he found you two kissing in the hallway."

"And you do know what this means?"

"That my nieces and nephews are going to be one quarter dragon, one quarter leopard, one quarter inu, and one quarter miko? And probably a little pack of killers?"

Mizuki smacked Katsuro on the back of the head.

"What else is it supposed to mean?"

"I must leave. I will now be living in the East."

"Kind of goes along with the whole mated thing." Katsuro saw some movement and ducked, avoiding his second smack. "What's wrong, Ki-chan? Really? You seem really worked up."

"I am leaving, shatei." Mizuki stared at the horizon, playing with the end of her braid. "I will not be with you anymore. How can I fulfill my promise to you if I am so far away?"

"Oh, Ki-chan." Katsuro knew he was just asking to have his arm snatched off, but he dropped his arm around his sister's shoulders. "You didn't break your promise to me by mating Seiji. Really."

The older sibling went rigid for an instant when she felt Katsuro's arm, but then relaxed. "And how, exactly, will I be able to fulfill my obligation now?"

"Are you kidding? Um, the whole being the next Lady of the East! How better to keep me in power then to have the entire East backing me!"

Mizuki tipped her head to the side. "It might help."

"Might? My mate is the Lord of the North's daughter, and my sister is the next Lady of the East. Sounds like a pretty good spot to me."

"I still feel that I have abandoned you."

"You haven't. You couldn't do something like that, and we both know it." Katsuro gave his sister a shake. "Between the two of us, we're going to rule half of Japan."

"And what of Seiji and Cho?"

"I know exactly who is going to rule the East, dear sister. I also know exactly who will be ruling the West."

"It is a good thing that Cho is very sensible and organized. She is well suited to rule."

"Exactly."

"So . . . " Mizuki looked to her brother. "I have not betrayed you?"

"Not at all. Father was right."

"About what?"

"You deserve to be one of the rulers of Japan. You are going to be an incredible Lady, and everyone knows it." Katsuro started to chuckle. "I do feel kind of bad for Seiji, though. A lifetime bound to you."

The dark haired hanyou grunted when he was knocked over by his annoyed sister.

"Exactly what I mean. You're picking on your badly injured, younger brother. Who knows what depths you will sink to?" Katsuro did not need his eyes to know that his sister was moving, and growling. He dodged, but not very effectively when what he thought was Mizuki turned out to be a tree. His sister caught him and twisted his arm behind his back. "I give! I give!"

"Foolish." Mizuki released him and pulled him to his feet. "We should return before they become concerned over our absence."

"Cho's convinced that I'm going to fall down some stairs or off of the village wall before I get my eyesight back. She's probably looking for my body as we speak."

"She is a perfect match for you, shatei."

Katsuro stopped, tugging his sister around to face him. "Tell me something, Ki-chan?"

"Hai."

"Seiji. What do you feel for him?"

"He is acceptable. We are still working out the nature of our relationship, but I do not believe that we will kill each other."

"Ki-chan. Don't play games with me. Can you be happy with him?"

Mizuki's head drooped. "I hope so, shatei."

"You're not instilling much confidence in me."

She chuckled, surprising her brother. "Hai. Probably because I am still a bit uncertain myself."

"Then why, Ki-chan? Why him?"

"There are so many reasons. In the end, I wanted to."

"So you wanted to be with him."

Mizuki paused, surprised by her own words. "It would seem that way."

"Do I need to kill him? Maybe give him a firm talk and a bit of a beating?"

His sister laughed, taking his arm to lead him back. "No, shatei. I will manage to keep him in line."

"If he hurts you . . . "

"Father has already claimed the honor of killing him."

"Then he's going to need to bring Tensaiga, so I can have a turn." Katsuro sighed, looking at his sister's profile. "Do you love him, Ki-chan?"

"No."

"Could you love him?"

"I do not know, shatei."

Her brother gave her a poke. "Don't rule out the possibility. Weirder things have happened."

"I will keep it in mind."

----

The tearful goodbye with her mother was over with, and her brother's and Cho's encouragements had been said. Even Yuriko had come with her father and Shippou to wish her luck in her new home. Mizuki now stood with Shou, watching as Seiji bowed to her mother. It appeared that he was being threatened, but that was to be expected.

"Daughter."

"Hai, father." Mizuki looked up to her father, who was rather suddenly standing next to her.

"Watch the dragon."

"I will not trust him."

Sesshomaru looked at her. "Not Seiji. Akira."

"And Seiji?"

The inu-youkai watched as Kagome waved a finger at the dragon that was now a pack member. "Perhaps."

"Hn."

"Any reason."

"And I will tell you."

Sesshomaru nodded and walked away. Mizuki looked after him, a hint of a smile on her lips. 'I will let you know if I need your help. And I will miss you, too, Papa.'

Seiji had escaped from the miko, and was walking over with a rather amused expression. "Evidently, if your mother finds that I am mistreating you in any manner, I will never be able to produce an heir."

"I suspect that Mama used a slightly more graphic description."

"Extremely graphic." Seiji looked Shou over, noting that Mizuki had a pack slung over her back and appeared to be ready to depart. "Shall we?"

"Hai." The inu-hanyou swung up onto Shou. Her belongings that were still in the West would be sent to her. Her eyes found her family, standing in the courtyard together. She saluted her parents, and gave a small wave to her brother. Shou leapt skyward, chasing after the dark blue dragon that was already racing off to the East. In a matter of seconds her family was out of sight. Mizuki turned her eyes back to the front, following that dragon and racing towards her new life.


	93. Fire and Ice: Epilogue

A/N: Note at the bottom! Time lapse warning.

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Mizuki trailed her brush across the paper. Her eyes were locked on her project, for the most part ignoring her surroundings. She was alone with Shou, which was typical of her days when she was not working with her soldiers. In the field she was the vicious Commander. Off of the field, she was a silent lady that stayed to herself. The Eastern court had not adapted well to the idea that their heir had taken a hanyou. She did her job and stayed out of sight for the most part.

Her thoughts frequently roamed to the West. What was shatei doing now? How were her father and mother? Was Cho dealing with the chaos that seemed to follow the Lady of the West wherever she went? She wrote messages and avidly read the responses, but sometimes entire days would go by when she would say nothing that was not an order.

"You are not going to like this."

The secret heir to the East looked up, watching as Seiji came into her study. Even after five years of living with him as his mate, she was still uncertain of how to act around him outside of an official capacity. "And what is that?"

"There is a new group looking to take control."

She sighed softly, taking the missive that was offered to her. "They are like vermin."

"Hai."

She read the pages, flipping through them quickly. "My unit is rested enough, we can leave tomorrow." The dramatic sigh of the dragon wrapped around her arm was not missed. 'Sorry, little one.'

"I was intending to deal with this one, since you dealt with the last one."

"Your unit needs more time to recover. They are not in any condition to march yet."

Seiji gave her a look. "You are keeping a close eye on my soldiers, Mizuki."

"It is always wise to keep a close eye on those that might be a threat."

"I did sign your truce, which included not attacking each other with our soldiers but only with our own claws." The dragon smiled. "You do so hate waste."

"True. This does not change the fact that I will be the one to leave tomorrow."

A thoughtful expression crossed Seiji's face. "Since you came here to live with me, how much of that time has been spent with both of us in residence?"

Mizuki tipped her head slightly. "We do alternate dealing with these problems, so we are usually separate. One of us is in the field, and the other is here."

"Unless, of course, we are attacking each other."

The silver haired female blushed, a memory flashing behind her eyes. "That will not be repeated. We have a truce now."

"A pity. Negotiations were quite enjoyable."

Another memory played across her mind, distracting her. Images of herself and Seiji in a tent, locked in an embrace. "It has only been two weeks since you signed it. You cannot possibly be considering breaking it already, no matter how much you enjoyed negotiations."

"No, even if it is tempting to face you across a battlefield again. Next time I will know better then to let you capture me."

Returning her attention to her desk, while trying to ignore her burning face, Mizuki dipped her brush into her paint. She heard Seiji come around her desk to stand behind her.

"Another painting. You have taken to your old hobby with vigor."

She forced herself to concentrate as her mate knelt just behind her, watching her work from over her shoulder.

"You seem distracted. Should I leave? Perhaps we should discuss this later."

Mizuki set her brush down, repressing a slight shiver when his breath ghosted past her ear. "There is no need. This is completed."

"It would scandalize the army to know that the Commander they fear can also create such art." Seiji set a hand on her shoulder and felt her muscles tense. 'Still. She still reacts like this to even the most casual contact.' His voice dropped to a whisper. "One day I hope that you will not tense at a touch from me."

"Perhaps." The hanyou set to work cleaning her brush. Her mind was distracting her with thoughts that she was trying to push away. 'I do not want to spend the next several moons in the field while he is here. We only returned two weeks ago, and that is not enough time. We see so little of each other, and I . . . I think I miss him.'

The dragon gave Shou a quick scratch before rising to his feet. "I will let my mother know that you are leaving tomorrow."

"Wait."

Seiji turned away from the door, looking back at the female still kneeling behind her desk. "Hai?"

"Perhaps you could come with me as I hunt down this rebellion. Your unit may not be ready, but I would suspect that you are." Mizuki hated the hint of uncertainty in her voice, and the fact that she could not meet his eyes. 'I am practically begging him to humiliate me. After spending so many years telling Katsuro to think before he opens his mouth . . . '

The dragon walked back towards her, studying her. "Are you not feeling well? Are you unable to leave? I thought that your human night was some weeks off still, not that this has stopped you before."

"It is not that."

"What is it, then, Mizuki?"

Mizuki felt her claws prick the palm of her hand and stopped herself from sinking them in. "I am offering for you to accompany me."

"Why?" He knelt beside her, turning her face with a finger against her chin so that her eyes met his.

"Because I want you to."

He was so close, his ice blue eyes gazing at her so intensely. Her attention was focused on his lips. 'Why is it that this takes more courage then any battle I have fought?' Mizuki leaned forward, closing the distance and bringing them into contact. It was not one of their kisses where they tried to devour each other. This was not one of their battles for dominance, or the intense, explosive embraces that would occur when they were reunited after a long separation. It was gentle, almost soft. Seiji slid his hand to cup her cheek, holding her close.

When the kiss ended, Mizuki leaned very gently against his shoulder. His hand was resting against her back, almost afraid he would spook her back into her usually aloof demeanor.

"Seiji."

"Hai, Mizuki."

"We must discuss our schedule with your mother."

The dragon smiled, snagging the end of her braid and unbinding it. "And why is that?"

"I am not interested in being alone in this place for the grand majority of the year. There is no reason why we cannot work together in dealing with these rebellions. It would be more effective to have the both of us working on the problem, even if our units must rotate."

Her hair fell free, and he trailed his claws through it slowly. He loved her hair when it was loose. "As you wish, Mizuki."

----

A part of Kagome's mind was listening to Kumo, but most of it was not even in the same building as the miko. Her mind was focused on the East, and a disturbing story she had heard from both Mayu and Akira. Her daughter had been with Seiji for five years now, and things had still not settled.

What had started the latest fight was still a mystery, but Mizuki had taken her unit and marched out. When Seiji awoke that morning, his mate and her unit were both gone. Mizuki had left the message that she was going to hunt down a group of troublemakers, but Seiji jumped to his own conclusions. He took off after her with his own soldiers, chasing her across the East.

Mizuki had not wanted to waste resources by setting the Eastern army against its self. She halted, letting Seiji think that she was bracing herself to fight. Seiji had also settled in, planning to attack at the first light. The dragon should have known better then to expect Mizuki to just stand and fight.

The hanyou's unit had taken the name of the Inu's Guard, although they were just as frequently referred to as the Bitch's Guard. Mizuki had modeled them after the Lady's Guard and had included the unusual skills that the Captain had taught her. Seiji had woken up the morning of the battle to find himself in his mate's camp, bound, gagged, and surrounded. The future Lady of the East was sipping her tea and watching him, flanked by her officers.

The soldiers were ordered out so that Mizuki and Seiji could work out a truce. The details were still a mystery, but the couple had marched home together. Akira had been furious at the nonsense, and at Seiji's defeat, but it was tempered with the fact that Mizuki had returned and was still a resource that she could use. Mayu had been rather amused with the whole thing, and made no secret of the fact that she supported Mizuki's choice of actions. Kagome had hit the ceiling when she found out, and only a quick thinking Katsuro had kept her from charging off to rescue her daughter from what she saw as a completely unacceptable relationship.

Grinding her teeth a bit, Kagome tried to focus on what Kumo was saying. She was certain that it was important. At least, Kumo thought it was important.

"Kagome-sama, are you still here?" Kumo waved a hand in front of her lady, noticing that her eyes had gone blank.

"Gomen, Kumo. I was just thinking."

"Oi, Mama!"

"I don't have your father's hearing, but I'm not deaf, Katsuro!" Kagome did not miss the flinch from Kumo at her shout. "Gomen, Kumo."

"I just thought you would want to see the latest message from your only daughter." Katsuro waved a sealed package as he came into the room. "But if you're too busy. . . "

"Give me that, you brat." Kagome held out her hand, shaking her head at her son's antics. "Cho-chan was looking for you earlier."

"I know, and she found me. She seems to think that I would skip out of a meeting with some of the nobles that have been making a fuss about their activities being restricted."

"And where were you?"

"In the storage area behind the kitchens. I should have never taught her how to track. She's getting much too good at it." Katsuro dropped the package into his mother's hands. "So, do I get to hear about what Ki-chan is up to now?"

"After I finish reading it. Here, I need someone to run these down to the messenger." Kagome handed a small stack of messages to her son. "Take care of this and I'll be able to finish reading this faster."

"I am being had. I just know it."

Kagome broke open the message, ignoring her son's grumbling as he left. "She better have an explanation for herself in here."

_Mama,_

_I am certain that word has reached you regarding my altercation with Seiji. I am also certain that it has been blown all out of proportion. It was a misunderstanding. It did yield a benefit, in the form of a truce between the two of us. Things have settled considerably since then._

_There is some concern, since the unrest here is not ending as quickly as Akira-sama would like. It seems that each time I stop a rebellion from forming, yet another begins. It is becoming rather difficult to avoid the notice of the ningens as you desire. Even now I am preparing to march in order to stop an uprising. Seiji is accompanying me on this mission._

_Despite my hectic schedule, I have found time to pick up one of my old habits. I hope that you and shatei enjoy them._

_Regards,_

_Mizuki_

The miko sighed, rubbing her temples. 'What were we thinking? We should have never let her go.' She opened the rest of the package and gasped. She carefully pulled out several paintings, spreading them out on her desk.

"Hey, that looks like Ki-chan's work!" Katsuro came back into the room and studied the paintings with his mother. "That's me and Cho, and that looks like you and father."

"And this . . . "

Katsuro's eyebrows went up. "I've never seen Ki-chan include herself in a painting, even if she looks pretty tiny on Shou."

Kagome touched the picture gently, trying to figure out what her distant daughter was saying. "Katsuro, read this."

It took her son no more then a moment to read the short note. "Sounds like she has her hands full."

"Now, you know I don't speak Mizuki. Can you translate this for me?"

Katsuro looked at the note again, and then down at the pictures. "Well, that's a surprise. I didn't know the dragon had it in him."

"Huh?"

"Mama, I think Ki-chan is in love." He reached down and pulled the third picture to the front. It depicted Mizuki and Shou, dressed for battle.

Beside them was a navy blue dragon.

The miko stared at the picture, certain she was hearing things. "There is no way, Katsuro. They almost went to war against each other!"

"Look at what she sent you, Mama. Picture number one, showing me and Cho." The first picture was pulled to the front. It showed Katsuro and Cho under a cherry tree with petals falling around them. While Cho read from a book in her lap, Katsuro dozed against the tree. "I had no idea that she had seen us. Cho-chan was reading poetry to me."

"Well, it makes sense. You're her brother, and Cho is her best friend. She's done more pictures including you then anyone. How does that say she's in love?"

"Wait for it. Picture number two, you and father." The second picture featured Sesshomaru watching his mate while she picked a flower. "This has to be one of the walks that you two go on."

"And she's seen that hundreds of times. Of course she would paint that. It also means she gets to paint the gardens, and she does enjoy that."

"And picture number three."

Kagome leaned forward, carefully studying the third image. "She's charging into battle with Seiji."

"Hai, not charging in against him, but with him. Like you said, we've never seen her paint herself before. She also mentions in the note that Seiji is coming with her on this latest mission on hers. For Mizuki, that's just about as romantic as she gets. I'd guess that even she doesn't know it yet, but I'd bet anything that she's fallen for him."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I'm an expert in speaking Mizuki, and this one is pretty clear. You can stop worrying about her."

"So they're going to stop fighting?"

"No way in hell."

----

Kagome sat outside, enjoying the cool air that blew across her face and watching the sunset. Her flowers were beside her in their basket and she could see her son and his mate down the hill under a tree. Everything was where it should be.

'Almost.' Flopping back into the grass, the miko from the future thought about her daughter. 'So, Katsuro thinks his Ki-chan is in love. Is it possible?'

As if that was his cue, Sesshomaru walked up the hill to his mate's side. He sat next to her in companionable silence and studied the sunset. He knew about the message from his daughter, since he had also received one. Of course his message had dealt more with the locations of rebellions that were near the border and might spread to his lands, but there had been mention of Seiji now accompanying her on her missions. That, combined with the story of her capturing Seiji, was enough for him.

"They're cute." Kagome sat up on her elbows and looked at the young couple below them.

"Hn."

"I know it's lost on you, so you'll need to take my word on it."

"You are starting to ramble."

"You know me too well." She dropped back into the grass. "Mizuki wrote me."

"I know."

"Katsuro thinks she's in love."

"It is a possibility. She does seem committed to Seiji."

Kagome looked over to the inu-youkai. "That's the youkai version of 'in love', right?"

"The definitions are similar enough."

"So she fell in love with that dragon. I guess that means you were right. Damn."

Sesshomaru gave her a smirk.

"You are going to be impossible to live with now. I've got Katsuro dealt with, and Mizuki seems to be fending for herself. That leaves me with Yuriko."

"Not necessarily."

"Huh?" A note was being held out, and Kagome took it.

_Sesshomaru-sama,_

_Greetings. I am contacting you to let you know that we are moving my court to the Far Shores palace. I did not want any of your messengers to return with the news that we had all died. The Far Shores is much more isolated and most ningens do not realize that it is one of my homes. I am certain that this will please Kagome-sama._

_I hope all is well with your pack and your lands. _

_As a parting note, please tell your lovely mate that if she hears any rumors about Yuriko being kidnapped by a Northern lord to not be concerned._

_Regards,_

_Merkamou_

"Kidnapped?! What the hell is that hawk talking about?" Kagome flipped the note over and back again.

"Perhaps the Northern lord that spent time with her in the exterminator's village."

"Kouga? Kouga kidnapped Yuriko? Merkamou is going to slaughter him, and probably his entire tribe while he's at it!" Jumping to her feet, Kagome stared at her unmoving mate. "We have to stop this!"

"I believe his exact words were to not be concerned about this rumor."

"How could I not be concerned about a rumor that . . . Oh, I get it. It's just a rumor, right?"

"I suspect that Merkamou has the situation in hand."

"Okay. Merkamou is just about the most protective father out there. If he's saying not to worry, then I'm going to guess that it's not true." The miko sank back down to the grass. "What would start a rumor like that? Maybe Kouga is courting her?"

"It is not my concern."

"But I promised Rin-chan I would make sure she got her happy ending." She sighed. "Maybe she's like Mizuki, and she's finding a happy ending all on her own."

Sesshomaru almost sighed with relief. He was not interested in trying to restrain his mate from racing off into the northern mountains to find Kouga's tribe.

"If that's true, then each of them is set. That's such a weird thought. I spent so much time worrying about them, and now it's done. I don't have any more to worry about until the next generation." Kagome cringed a bit at the thought of being a grandmother.

"Perhaps."

"What do you mean?"

The gold eyes caught the light of the dying sun as they slanted over, seeming to glow. "You could always have another."

"Oh, no you do not! I just got this group settled! I'm on vacation until further notice. I am going to enjoy my freedom."

"You will be coming into heat soon."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"No." Sesshomaru reached towards her.

"You stay away from me!" Kagome jumped to her feet, her flowers forgotten. "Don't even think about it! I'm way too old to be having more pups!"

"No, you are not."

"Get back, you evil youkai!" A barrier jumped to life.

"You know that will not last forever."

"Eep!" The Lady of the West took off towards the palace, keeping up her barrier and hoping that she could come up with a plan. "Keep your claws to yourself!"

----

Cho looked up from her koto to watch her mate's mother and father take off towards the palace, with the miko yelling very odd statements. "Katsuro-kun?"

"You'll get used to it." Katsuro did not even open his eyes. "I just hope Mama makes it inside. There are some things I never, ever want to see my parents doing."

The leopard missed a note, her eyes shooting over to the snoozing male. "You must not be serious."

"Completely." The emerald eyes cracked open, shining with humor. "Comments like that? I know exactly how this is going to end."

"That is almost scandalous."

"Your parents never fight?"

"Certainly not like that."

"How boring."

She rolled her eyes, beginning her music once again. "Your family is quite unusual, Katsuro-kun."

"I know." He let his eyes slide back closed. Between Cho's soothing presence, the cherry blossoms, the beautiful music, and his mother's fading death threats to his father, his world was just about perfect. "I wouldn't want them to be any other way."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Yes, you read it correctly, that's the end of Fire and Ice. –ducks tomato- Alright, alright, let me finish typing here. I have to say thank you to all of my reviewers that are still with me, I love you all! There are just too many to list, and if I just list some the others are going to get offended, so I'm just going to say Thank You!!! You guys are the reason I keep doing this. And my muse needs the exercise.

For those of you that are wondering about Yuriko (you know who you are, with your frantic notes and e-mails and begging), she is going to get her own short story called 'Just Say You Love Me'. The story of Shippou, Kouga, and Yuriko warrants an off shoot. For the sake of the Kags and Sesshy fans, I'm going to take that story off to the side.

If anyone likes Kagome x Miroku, I have a one shot out there called 'One Less Regret' (not on Single Spark, of course). –blushes over advertising her story-

And, before the Kags and Sesshy fans decide to lynch me for being unfair, the next story in my saga (I think I'm going to rename it 'The Western Lands') is going to be called 'Guardian'. Almost completely Kagome-centric.

See you after my break!

-darkjewel


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